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Babcock Australasia has successfully delivered HMAS Stuart, the first surface ship to successfully complete key maintenance work at the Regional Maintenance Provider West (RMP West).
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This milestone marks the inaugural surface ship to have completed key maintenance work under the Commonwealth’s Maritime Sustainment Model, with the busy maintenance schedule combining work assigned as part of Intermediate Maintenance Availability 11 (IMAV11), plus an intricate series of unanticipated repairs, including the replacement of the starboard propulsion diesel engine (PDE).
HMAS Stuart becomes the first major fleet unit run through the new Maritime Sustainment Model, which was established by the Department of Defence to bring a standardised approach to servicing Royal Australian Navy (RAN) fleet vessels, create a rolling pipeline of work for Australian suppliers and continue development of sovereign sustainment capability over time.
Babcock Australasia CEO Andrew Cridland welcomed this milestone achievement, saying, “We are thrilled to have completed the first of what will be many surface ship maintenance packages through RMP West alongside our Regional Maintenance Centre West colleagues as part of the Maritime Sustainment Model.”
This was the first in-water PDE change out conducted on an Anzac Class frigate in almost a decade, meanwhile the successful extraction and replacement of the propulsion unit required the temporary removal of the ship’s vertical launch system (VLS), adding further complexity of the task.
This detailed exercise demanded careful planning and precise project management by Babcock to overcome a number of obstacles, including the sourcing of components with long lead times and short shelf lives, preservation works, working at height, and inclement weather. Reinstallation of the VLS was critical to maintaining alignment and calibration of the module, with Babcock utilising the expertise of its West Australian supply chain partner IKAD to determine volumetric requirements for the foundation levelling compound via 3D modelling.
Cridland said, “Quality project management hinges on the ability to remain agile and navigate and persist collaboratively through roadblocks as they arise, and we were certainly able to achieve this through new processes, tools and daily critical pathway meetings with key stakeholders to ensure the maintenance packages were completed to the highest standards.”
The IMAV11 and the complex PDE replacement were undertaken concurrently over a 17-week period at the HMAS Stirling Naval Base on Garden Island off the coast of Perth, in close collaboration with Defence’s Regional Maintenance Centre West.
The sustainment packages were overseen by a 20-strong team of Babcock project managers, engineers and production specialists, including four graduates. The total work package included 374 tasks across more than 41,000 work hours.
As part of the work, Babcock engaged 39 repair agents through its local supply chain to undertake the work, including IKAD, Thales, C & J Rigging and Mr Scaffold, equating to approximately $8.7 million in subcontracted work.
Upon completion of the maintenance program by Babcock, HMAS Stuart departed for Darwin where its 200 personnel participated in Exercise Kakadu. The ship is now undertaking Australia’s fifth Indo-Pacific deployment of 2024, where it will support the nation’s ongoing contribution to the security and stability of the region by participating in exercises across the Indo-Pacific region.
Babcock became the exclusive maintenance contractor for RMP West in 2022, responsible for managing the sustainment of multiple classes of RAN surface ships at Henderson, including Arafura Class offshore patrol vessels, Anzac Class frigates and an auxiliary oiler replenishment ship.
The establishment of RMP West is predicted to generate up to $300 million in economic benefits through local industry engagement in Western Australia across the contract term.
