BAE Systems Australia has been working with state and federal governments and Defence to develop a comprehensive master plan for WA’s Henderson shipyard to deliver the sustainment capabilities the RAN will need in coming decades.

Henderson has long been a critical component for the sustainment of complex maritime platforms in direct support of the Royal Australian Navy and commercial shipping customers.

The master plan integrates with the BAE Systems shipbuilding capability at the Osborne shipyard in South Australia, to deliver asset lifecycle support aligned to the continuous naval shipbuilding (CNS) strategy.

“This is not a short-term plan BAE Systems’ Head of Production and Transformation Blake Pilgrim said in a company release. “The business is committed, and we are contemplating evolution across the site over the next 10 years.

“A dedicated team has been working behind the scenes to develop a detailed plan for upgrades necessary to ensure Henderson is capable of supporting the majority of future fleet assets of the Royal Australian Navy,” he added.

This plan initially includes studies to validate a variety of potential changes including an upgrade of the vessel transfer system and to the ship-lift to handle larger vessels. Other facilities could be a new fabrication workshop, a dedicated hotwork facility, warehouse, a second shipside support tower,  vendor village, and a new high capacity crane.

“We are also working with our Osborne Shipyard team to overlay lessons learned from the establishment of the new shipyard and creating the path to introduce digital technologies to make for more efficient operations in Henderson,” Pilgrim said.