Design contract let for floating dry dock in WA

Leidos Gibbs and Cox Australia has been selected to lead the preliminary design for a contingency dry dock, which will be established in Western Australia to support Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarine capability. 

FILE IMAGE: USS Arco (ARDM-5), primarily used for dry-docking and repairing US Navy nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines, at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, San Deigo, California, has been in service since 1986. US Navy photo by Jason Saucier.

Minister for Defence Richard Marles said the contingency dry dock capability was a critical step in building a sovereign submarine-sustainment system.

“This investment ensures Australia will have the infrastructure, workforce and industrial capability required to support our future nuclear-powered submarines,” Mr Marles said.

“This contingency dry-dock capability is a critical pre-condition of Australia receiving its first Virginia-class submarine under the AUKUS plan and will provide a critical contingency capability for Australia and its partners.

“Selecting the designer to provide floating dry-dock design services will ensure Australia is ready to undertake critical repairs and maintenance for the nation’s future nuclear-powered submarines from the early 2030s, ahead of the requirement to conduct submarine depot-level maintenance from the late 2030s.” *

Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the development of infrastructure at Henderson will position Western Australia at the centre of our submarine sustainment enterprise.

“This is another example of AUKUS delivering long-term industrial capability and highly skilled jobs for Australians.”

USS Scranton (SSN 756) enters floating dry dock Arco. US Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Smith.

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* EDITOR’S NOTE: Mr Marles’ statement that “Selecting the designer to provide floating dry-dock design services will ensure Australia is ready to undertake critical repairs and maintenance…” is not strictly accurate. Actually building and then delivering a working dry dock would make this statement true. Signing a contract to design it, while being a good first step in a long and expensive process, will not in or of itself ensure anything except a good first step.
Several other lines from the minister’s press release were deleted as irrelevant or for being party-political.

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