ASC Shipbuilding, formerly the shipbuilding division of

ASC Pty Ltd ASC Pty Ltd, formerly the Australian Submarine Corporation, is an Australian government business enterprise involved with Australian naval shipbuilding, headquartered in Osborne, South Australia. It is notable for the construction and main ...

, is a subsidiary of

BAE Systems Australia BAE Systems Australia, a subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, is one of the largest defence contractors in Australia. It was formed by the merger of British Aerospace Australia and GEC-Marconi Systems and expanded by the acquisitions of Armor Holdings ...

and will remain a subsidiary for the duration of the contract to build the ''Hunter'' class frigates. It was structurally separated from ASC Pty Ltd in December 2018 and became a subsidiary of BAE Systems Australia. In 2021 it was renamed as BAE Systems Maritime Australia.

History

ASC Shipbuilding had been one of the wholly owned subsidiary companies owned by

, and had been involved in the construction of the Air Warfare Destroyer and

Offshore Patrol Vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

projects under ASC's lead role. To establish ASC Shipbuilding a number of assets and obligations were transferred from ASC Group. These included a new company named ''ASC OPV Shipbuilder Pty Ltd'' which has direct responsibility for completing the Offshore Patrol Vessel contract to build the first two ''Arafura''-class ships under licence from Luerssen Australia. Some employees were moved between the various companies, along with their entitlements. Two subsidiaries of ASC Shipbuilding (ASC AWD Shipbuilder and ASC Modules) were transferred out of ASC Shipbuilding to the parent group. Finally, ASC Shipbuilding was removed from ASC Group to direct ownership by the Commonwealth by way of an ''in specie'' dividend. After

won the contract to build ''Hunter'' class frigates for the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

at ASC's shipyard, ASC Shipbuilding was structurally separated from the rest of ASC Pty Ltd and transferred to BAE Systems Australia in December 2018. ASC Pty Ltd retained responsibility for completion of the Air Warfare Destroyer and Offshore Patrol Vessel contracts. At the completion of the contract, the control of ASC Shipbuilding will be returned to the Commonwealth of Australia. Under its new ownership, ASC Shipbuilding expanded its scope from only assembling modules for naval ships to undertaking full design and construction work. Following the selection of four Australian companies to help fast track manufacturing processes to support the Hunter Class Frigate Program, ASC Shipbuilding, was renamed as BAE Systems Maritime Australia.

Operations

ASC Shipbuilding occupies the ASC South site of the

Osborne Naval Shipyard The Osborne Naval Shipyard is a multi-user facility at Osborne on the Lefevre Peninsula in South Australia. It was established in 1987 for the Australian Submarine Corporation, and the first products of the facility were the six ''Collins''-Cl ...

s. It is the responsible entity for building the ''Hunter'' class frigates. It also provides contract workforce to its neighbour and former parent ASC Pty Ltd to complete the ''Hobart''-class Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) and ''Arafura''-class offshore patrol vessels (OPV) programs. ASC Shipbuilding established a new collaboration with

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

in 2019 to establish a test and trial laboratory for evaluating and developing technology for use in building the ''Hunter''-class frigates. At the end of the building program for the ''Hunter''-class frigates, 100% ownership of ASC Shipbuilding will return to the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, including the intellectual property developed during the design and construction. The Commonwealth retains a sovereign share during the build, which also provides rights in relation to decisions with national security or strategic implications during the build.

References

{{Reflist Shipbuilding companies of Australia Companies with year of establishment missing BAE Systems subsidiaries and divisions Defence companies of Australia Manufacturing companies based in Adelaide