Submarine Scaffold

The Royal Australian Navy's Collins Class Submarines are a formidable element in Australia's defence capability. Six of the submarines are based at HMAS Stirling on Garden Island, just south of Perth in Western Australia.

The submarines undergo periodic maintenance and part of this program involves dry docking for a 2 to 3 month period. Access during these dockings is required to all different areas of the submarine with a very intense erection and dismantle schedule.

Orvad's have done the scaffold and encapsulation of the submarines for the past 5 years and each docking has seen an improvement in the design and erection methods to improve the safety, efficiency and erection times of the scaffold.

Thank you to Paul Orvad of Orvad (WA) Pty Ltd for the use of these photos.