Delays extend delivery of HMAS Canberra by six months

THE delivery date for the navy’s biggest ever warship has slipped by a further six months due to “teething problems” and workplace issues.

THE delivery date for the navy’s biggest ever warship has slipped by a further six months due to “teething problems” and workplace issues.

According to a government source a recent “go slow” by workers at the Williamstown dockyard in Melbourne over the Easter-Anzac Day period has further slowed production of the 27,000-tonne amphibious helicopter landing ship HMAS Canberra.

EXCLUSIVE REPORT: Inside HMAS Canberra

The yard’s owner BAE Systems, which is facing late delivery penalties in excess of $10 million, denied that there was a formal “go slow”.

“Work on both of the LHDs (Landing Helicopter Dock) at Williamstown was carried out as planned during the period between Easter Monday and Anzac Day,” a company spokesman said.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure that we perform to the schedule for delivery of both LHDs.”

Being fitted out ... HMAS Canberra dwarfs other boats and yachts at Williamstown dockyard. Picture: Mark Stewart

The first ship was due to be commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy in June but that has been put back until December.

The initial delivery of the ship from the builder to the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and navy was also delayed from February this year until August.

The LHD is the biggest ship ever built for the navy.

News of the delay comes as unions warn of massive job losses due to a lack of shipbuilding decisions in the federal Budget.

Shipyard workers took their case to Canberra yesterday warning of job cuts in excess of 3800 under the so-called shipbuilding “valley of death”.

Mechanical fitter Robert Proctor, 33, from Newcastle-based shipyard Forgacs, believes he could be out of a job within a month.

“Don’t send the jobs overseas, keep them in Australia, keep an industry alive, otherwise this industry will be dead,” he said.

A decision by June 30 to build two replenishment ships in Australia could save some of the at-risk shipyards.

The LHD can carry up to 1000 fully equipped troops, dozens of armoured vehicles and trucks and has a flight deck able to operate six helicopters at once.

“People wonder why we get work on our ships done in Singapore — it is cheaper, better and more reliable,” a government source said.

Skilled tradespeople are already leaving the yard to take jobs elsewhere as future prospects look grim.

The lack of contracts and the federal Budget crackdown on employment benefits for under 30s will increase pressure on workers.

An industry source said any “go slow” would be understandable as workers tried to extend their jobs due to a lack of work in the pipeline to bridge the “valley of death”.

The Williamstown yard will fall silent when the second LHD — HMAS Adelaide — is completed in late 2016.

BAE Systems and other firms have warned that yards will be forced to close down with the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the wake of the loss of car making.

So far the government has told industry to wait for decisions on new ships until the first Abbott Government Defence White Paper and Capability Plan are released early in 2015.

That might be too late for shipyards such as Williamstown and Forgacs.

Sunrise ... HMAS Canberra being put through its paces in Jervis Bay, NSW. Picture: Paul Newman