ASC Pty Ltd, Defence shipbuilding organisation of the Australian Government
ASC Pty Ltd is a shipbuilding company in Osborne, a suburb northwest of Adelaide in South Australia, that designs, builds, and maintains military vessels for the Royal Australian Navy. The facility sits along the Port River and operates an active shipyard where Collins-class submarines and Hobart-class destroyers are constructed and serviced.
The company was founded in 1985 to build Collins-class submarines for the Royal Australian Navy, a project that became one of the largest defense contracts in Australian history. The Australian government took full ownership in 2000, and a name change followed in 2004 to reflect the company's growing role across different types of naval vessels.
ASC Pty Ltd is one of the few places in Australia where naval construction work is occasionally opened to the public through tours or information sessions. The site is a major source of employment for the Osborne area and shapes much of the working life of the local community.
The site is in Osborne along the Port River, south of Adelaide, and is only open to workers and authorized personnel due to active security restrictions on a working military shipyard. Anyone interested in visiting should contact the company in advance to ask about any public tours or information sessions that may be available.
ASC developed a repair method called cold spray technology together with Australia's CSIRO research organization, which allows damaged submarine parts to be fixed without dismantling them. This approach is much faster than older methods and has attracted interest from other navies around the world looking to adopt it.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
