The two mega-block hull components of the first of 12 Arafura class offshore patrol vessels for the RAN have been joined at the Osborne shipyard in Adelaide.

The move to join the two blocks – totalling 1,000 tonnes – by the Australian Naval Infrastructure (ANI) team comprising Luerssen Australia and ASC Shipbuilding was completed on May 4, and was the largest industrial manoeuvre ever performed at Osborne.

“It is a source of great pride to see a unified purpose among industry partners Luerssen, ASC and ANI, with defence industry continuing to show resilience to deliver during these challenging times,” Defence Minister Senator Linda Reynolds said in a statement.

The first two Arafura class OPVs are being built at Osborne before production moves to the Henderson yard near Fremantle in WA where the balance will be built by Luerssen and Civmec. The Osborne yard will by then be starting work on the first of 10 Hunter class frigates.

A video of the join process can be found here.