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Cairncross Dry Dock in Queensland

The Queensland government believed that Australia has the existing infrastructure needed to sustain a viable naval shipbuilding industry. It identified two sites in Queensland that could provide the necessary infrastructure for the proposed LHDs. The Cairncross Dry-dock Facility is situated in a mixed industrial-residential area on the Brisbane River and has access to the local workforce, existing steel fabrication sites and transportation nodes. In 2002, the Naval Shipbuilding and Repair Sector Strategic Plan noted that the site covered 16 hectares and had a graving dock (85 000 dwt capacity, 263 metre x 33.5 metre), a fitting out wharf of 307 metre and travelling cranes: 4 x 5 tonnes, 1 x 50 tonnes, 1 x 30 tonnes. The 2002 Strategic Plan commented on the capacity for infrastructure expansion on this 'relatively spacious' site. It was of the view that 'some investment would be needed to adapt it to module fabrication, but full vessel assembly was not considered 'practical'.

According to the Government of Queensland, the site is among the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and could facilitate the assembly of either of the LHD designs. It is considering developing a CUF, particularly in support of building modules to be consolidated in the Cairncross Dock in Brisbane and is working on the plan for the development of a common user facility with leaseholder Viking Industries. The development would provide the necessary facilities for the complete assembly of large ship modules up to 500 tonnes which could then be transported six kilometers to the Cairncross Dry Dock or another shipyard in Australia.

Cairncross is highly suited to the assembly of super-blocks, such as the forward or aft section of a large vessel and the site requires minimal upgrade to support the project given the symbiotic relationship between the dry dock and the fabrication facility (Common User Facility) immediately down river. The Queensland government noted that the site would be suitable for the fabrication of modules for the AWD that would then be transported to South Australia. Additional requirements, however, would be needed to cater fully for the consolidation of the LHDs at this site.