NUSHIP Canberra departs Melbourne

The first Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) NUSHIP Canberra has departed the BAE Systems Williamstown shipyard and is bound for Sydney.

The shipyard has been home for NUSHIP Canberra since late 2012 when the hull arrived from Spain.

Since its arrival, the BAE Systems Williamstown team along with key subcontractors have consolidated the Australian-built superstructure and masts, installed and integrated a variety of platform, combat and communication systems, and conducted a comprehensive series of harbour and sea trials.

The Defence Materiel Organisation accepted the warship from BAE Systems on October 7, 2014.

The Royal Australian Navy will commission NUSHIP Canberra at the end of November.

Director of Maritime, Bill Saltzer said, “The final departure of the ship from our yard in Williamstown to its homeport is a proud moment for the entire team here and those we worked with on the project, including the Commonwealth, Navantia, L3 and Saab.

“This achievement highlights the tremendous capability that has been developed here in Williamstown and it is a great example of an Australian prime contractor successfully managing a complex, international naval shipbuilding project.  

“We have all worked tremendously hard to deliver this ship and we are now focussed on achieving an even higher level of performance with the second LHD, NUSHIP Adelaide.”