Doubts raised over readiness of WA’s Henderson shipyard under Federal Government’s frigate fleet deal

Japan has won an historic $10 billion deal to build Australia’s warships, with Defence Minister Richard Marles revealing WA will play a key role in the nation’s 11-frigate fleet expansion. Under the plan, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will deliver three frigates — the first by 2029 to be operational in 2030 — followed by the remaining two shortly after. By then it’s expected Australia will be in the position to build the remaining eight frigates at the Henderson precinct south of Perth through shipbuilders Austal. Mr Marles confirmed the defence contractor as Australia’s strategic naval shipbuilder for the fleet on Tuesday. Across the next five years Henderson will be upgraded to allow for a series of landing crafts to be built — 18 medium and eight heavy — before it transitions to production of the frigates. The ships are upgraded Mogami-class frigates — vessels currently used by the Japanese Navy — which have a range of 10,000 nautical miles, advanced radar and sonar, stealth capability, operate with fewer sailors, and can launch long-range missiles. Mr Marles played down any strategic benefits from the alignment with Japan amid increased Chinese military presence in the Asia-Pacific, saying “it didn’t influence it at all”. “This was a capability-based decision,” he said, while still noting Japan holds “a very significant level of trust” with Australia. “We do have a very close strategic alignment with Japan,” he said. The vessels will replace Australia’s ageing Anzac fleet and coincide with the Hunter-class frigates due to be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy in 2032. The first of those six ships is expected to enter service by 2034. Mr Marles expressed confidence Japan would deliver on time and budget, with the Asian partner reportedly already half way through the first build and the remaining two already scheduled for production. “We are really confident about Japan’s capability to deliver and a really important part of the assessment of the bid was that,” Mr Marles said. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy added Mitsubishi Heavy Industries had already constructed 11 Mogami-class in their well-oiled production line and called its pitch a “clear winner”. Mr Conroy said Japan stood out from other contenders on cost, capability, design, technical and missile compatibility with Australia’s current fleet. Japan had edged out German rival Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems at the tail-end of a 10-bid tender process. “They are building the twelfth right now. We’re acquiring the upgraded Mogami-class frigate and the Japanese Government has allocated three production slots for us,” Mr Conroy said. “So we’ve got great confidence — and this was an intentional acquisition strategy of the Australian Government to access an established production line and not change it.” The $10 billion price tag covers more than just the first three frigates, it also includes workforce, development, facilities, and maintenance among other costs. The Japanese ship requires 90 sailors to operate, down from the 170 need on the current Anzac-class submarines and 120 on the German rival’s design. Japan’s Mogami-class frigate’s 40-year hull life and 300-seaday per year were ahead of Germany’s Meko-class frigate which had a 30-year hull life and 100-seaday capacity. The night-and-day benefits had prompted the Federal Government to go all in on Japan, five months earlier than the decision was expected. “This announcement that we are making today is actually being made months ahead of schedule, and that’s because we are really cognisant of the need to get this ship into service as quickly as possible,” Mr Marles said. The final contract is expected to be signed in 2026 after further negotiations with Japan. However, doubts have been raised over whether WA’s Henderson shipyard will be ready by the time the final of the three Japanese-built vessels arrives. With the site already housing defence, mining, and private enterprise — including a luxury Chinese shipbuilder — the precinct requires significant upgrades before it can take on the full frigate program. Maritime security specialist Jennifer Parker expressed doubt it would be able to build eight frigates. “The current plan to build eight frigates in WA —I’m not sure that will be viable. Henderson is a risk,” she said. “I think the Henderson consolidation is not necessarily on track. They probably need to be putting a little bit more focus on Henderson.” Uncertainty around the site’s readiness has clouded cost estimates for the full fleet and Mr Marles has said he wants to see the site transition from building landing craft to frigates “as soon as possible”. “We want to do that as soon as possible and we see that as occurring after the third ship. We’re confident that it will be ready,” he said. “The intention is to have this class of vessel fundamentally built in Perth at the Henderson Defence Precinct. That’s really at the heart of the continuous naval shipbuilding proposition that we have put forward.” He also hinted at a coming announcement with WA Premier Roger Cook on Henderson development. Shadow Defence Industry Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price welcomed the decision but continued the Coalition’s call for Labor to “adequately fund our defence forces”. “This decision should not detract from the urgent need to strengthen our sovereign industrial base for building missiles, drones and other asymmetric capabilities at speed and scale,” she said.