The construction of the largest shiplift in the southern hemisphere has just been completed, with a capacity to support and lift warships weighing up to 9,300 tonnes.
Located at Port Adelaide, the shiplift was commissioned by Defence SA after winning the contract to build three $6 billion Navy Air Warfare Destroyers.
The shiplift weighs 3,000 tonnes and required a workforce of up to 200 people to build it.
The 155.8m x 34m lift sits at ground level and can be lowered to 18.5m below sea level to allow vessels to float on and off.
Appointed to design and install the shiplift, Rolls Royce Marine awarded Boral Timber the contract to supply the 564 cubic metres of hardwood timber.
Blackbutt and Spotted Gum species were specified due to their hardness and crushing strength, providing the modulus elasticity, shear parallel to grain, compression perpendicular to grain and bending perpendicular to grain required.
The timber subframe sits over a steel platform consisting of 18 individual sections. The subframe is fixed onto the steel joists using lag screws.
The shiplift project was commissioned in late February and forms part of the SA government’s $400 million commitment to infrastructure at Techport Australia.
