THE $174 million infrastructure upgrade at the Australian Marine Complex has passed a major milestone with the arrival of a $60 million floating dock at the Henderson shipbuilding precinct on schedule.
THE $174 million infrastructure upgrade at the Australian Marine Complex has passed a major milestone with the arrival of a $60 million floating dock at the Henderson shipbuilding precinct on schedule.
THE $174 million infrastructure upgrade at the Australian Marine Complex has passed a major milestone with the arrival of a $60 million floating dock at the Henderson shipbuilding precinct on schedule.
The floating dock will be capable of providing the land transfer of docked vessels up to 3,500 tonnes, with the capacity to lift 12,000-tonne vessels out of the water for service and maintenance work.
Dockwise Shipping, headquartered in The Netherlands, was contracted to transport the 100-metre by 53-metre steel hull for the floating dock from Vietnam.
It was built by Perth-based Strategic Marine, which has also been contracted to further complete the dock at the AMC.
It is currently constructing the upper side walls of the dock which house the high value and advanced technical systems.
The company has two months to fit the dock's 840-tonne superstructure and a further four months to ensure all of the machinery works before handing the completed dock over in July.
"It really is a sight to behold," Dockwise Shipping Perth area manager Ben van der Hoeven said.
Mr van der Hoeven said the transportation of the steel hull was a complex component of the project due to the enormity and weight involved, making it impossible to go on board a normal cargo vessel and too risky to tow behind a tugboat.
The method employed for the launch used dozens of long sausage-shaped fenders, which were inflated to their full 1.5-metre diameter to lift the base of the dock off the one-metre pedestal it was resting on.
The dock, which was tethered firmly to prevent it from moving, was then rolled slowly down a ramp into the ocean.
The project is part of the Western Trade Coast, a strategic cluster of industry encompassing established industrial areas including the AMC, Kwinana Industrial Area, Rockingham Industry Zone and Latitude 32 Industry Zone, formerly known as the Hope Valley-Wattleup area.
Western Trade Coast business manager Luke Willcock said the floating dock project represents a significant investment in WA industry.
"It will facilitate commercial ship repair work, service the growing superyacht industry in WA, provide capability for the testing of subsea oil and gas components and allow WA to bid for a range of major maintenance and construction projects across the marine, defence and resources sectors," Mr Willcock said.