Babcock has moved the ex-warship HMAS Anzac using a sandbox solution. The sand boxes have been used as an engineering tool to evenly disturb weight and stabilise the ship as it was moved from place to place due to uneven ground surface.
Once the frigate was in its final resting spot, Babcock has collapsed the sandboxes so the ship's weight could be supported by more permanent stools.
The ship was decommissioned in May 2024 and was originally docked on the Frigate Laydown Area (FLA) within the Australian Marine Complex’s Common User Facility (AMCCUF) — the only site in the precinct purpose-built to hold an Anzac Class frigate.
But the FLA could not serve as the frigate's resting place for long. Other vessels required the space, and no alternative qualified hard stand existed at Henderson.
The challenge was clear: move a 3,500-tonne frigate to an uneven site safely and cost-effectively.
“This project demonstrates the depth of our engineering capability and our commitment to empowering teams to innovate,” Babcock Australasia Managing Director Marine, Simon Spratt, said.
“Designing and implementing a sandbox solution for an Anzac Class frigate had never been attempted before. Working with millimetre tolerances, complex load calculations, and demanding conditions, our engineers delivered a fully assured design in just six weeks. Through close collaboration with SMEs and Defence stakeholders, we turned a highly technical challenge into a proven solution, which is a testament to the precision, resilience, and ingenuity that define Babcock’s engineering culture.”
Two relocations were required — first to a temporary site for harvesting activities (recovery of serviceable parts), and then to a final location for disposal.
Resurfacing was considered but ruled out due to cost and time. Instead, Babcock’s Naval Architect Team have proposed an alternative: sandboxes - a temporary, load‑bearing bed of compacted sand used to distribute weight evenly, stabilise loads, and protect underlying surfaces.
The method has been used before for smaller vessels but never applied to an Anzac Class frigate in Australia.
To enable the first move, civil engineers have tested soil composition, surveyors have mapped the site to millimetre precision, and the AMCCUF Dockmaster and Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift have completed transit path calculations to confirm the Self‑Propelled Modular Transporter (SPMT) could safely lift and position the ship.
Once approved by the Director of Naval Engineering, 68 sandboxes were fabricated, installed, filled and compacted to create a level, engineered surface capable of supporting the ship’s cradles.
This has compensated for the uneven terrain and allowed the SPMT to move the frigate safely into position. After harvesting, ex-HMAS Anzac moved to its final disposal site.
Within six weeks, the new site was surveyed and inspected, and another 68 sandboxes were fabricated and installed.
Replacement cradle components — 16 concrete blocks, 144 supporting stools and 66 bracing components — were designed and manufactured locally, each built to a precise height to replace the cradle beams.
The ship was repositioned and secured within five hours. A controlled collapse of the sandboxes has transferred the load onto the supporting stools, allowing each cradle beam to be safely removed.
This method has enabled the complete recovery of the 400-series cradle set, preserving an important asset for future dockings.
Babcock supply chain partner Allship Engineering led the cradle removal. Navy architects, Commonwealth stakeholders ANZACSPO and DG.Eng, and Babcock’s engineers worked side by side, ensuring every design met DEF(AUST) 5000 standards, including consideration of seismic and wind loads.
Babcock has also used its specialist supply chain, including Allship Engineering, Griffin Marine, IKAD Engineering, WGA, Linkforce, DC Survey and Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift.