First Australian LHD embarks on sea trials
The first of two Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ships being built for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has commenced on the first period of sea trials ahead of acceptance by the ADF later in the year.
Nuship Canberra left BAE Systems Williamstown for Sydney on 3 March. The trails will include the journey to Sydney and back to Williamstown. The ship will also be dry docked at Garden Island to have the hull cleaned prior to a final paint application and the deck painted prior to returning to Williamstown.
Once back in Williamstown, final trials will be conducted on the vessel’s communication and combat systems.
Bill Saltzer, director of BAE Systems Maritime, said: ‘We will undertake approximately 240 hours over 16 days of testing on the ship and to ensure all systems perform to their capability. Some of the trials will run concurrently and cover everything from basic systems operations such as alarms, to the ships manoeuvrability while at sea.
‘Trials will be conducted under a number of scenarios. Some trials need the ship in certain conditions and or water depths while other trials require systems in specific configurations. We will be testing things like how fast the ship can go and how long it takes to stop. We will also be looking at how much fuel the ship will use at different speeds and what its manoeuvrability will be in terms of speed during different swell and sea conditions.’
The LHD vessel programme is being managed by BAE Systems with subcontractors Navantia, and SAAB and L3. The LHDs are the largest ships ever to be built for the ADF and operated by the Royal Australian Navy.
The second LHD, Nuship Adelaide arrived in Williamstown on 12 February and preparation works for the consolidation of the superstructure are well underway.
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