Rolls-Royce wins A$50m shiplift contract

is to provide the Government of South Australia with an A$50m shiplift which will be a key element of a major new shipbuilding and ship repair development at Techport

.

The Syncrolift will have capacity for ships of up to 9,300 tons, including the Royal Australian Navy’s new generation of Air Warfare Destroyers which will be built by ASC at Techport Australia in Adelaide.

Rolls-Royce will team with a variety of South Australian businesses to build the 156-metre-long Syncrolift for Techport Australia, under development by the Government of South Australia.

It will go into service in 2009 and will include a ship transfer system from Norwegian company TTS which will move vessels between the Syncrolift and maintenance/build berths on shore.

Techport Australia will be designed to permit a future increase of the Syncrolift to 210 metres, with capacity for Panamax-size ships.

’This contract marks another key milestone in our own growth in Australian naval business,’ said Pat Marolda, Rolls-Royce President – Naval. ‘Last month we won a contract worth more than A$50m, in a team with Kellogg Brown & Root, from the Australian Department of Defence to support four Royal Australian Navy amphibious and afloat ships for seven years with options for a further five.'

Another Syncrolift is already in operation at ASC, next to Techport

, which services Collins Class submarines. The RAN operates another Syncrolift at its Darwin Naval Base.