The First Arafura class OPV Hull Assembly

05/04/2020

In a further milestone for the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) program, the two halves of the first of class ship, Arafura, built by Luerssen Australia and its partner ASC have been brought together and welded to form a complete hull.

In what was the largest block move in the history of the Osborne Naval Shipyard and a considerable engineering feat, Australian Naval Infrastructureís (ANI) operations team manoeuvred the two mega-blocks together, with only millimetres between them.

Australian Department of Defence, April 26, 2020.