Austal Wins $144-Million Contract, Opens In-Demand Repair Facility

Austal USA has been awarded a $144-million contract modification for the design and construction of two T-ATS steel Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ships for the U.S. Navy, NBC 15 reported. Options, which could bring the contract total to $385 million, are included for up to three additional ships. These would be the first steel-hulled vessels produced by Austal at its newly established production facility on the west bank of the Mobile River (BBN #34 and 51).

Additionally, the company’s ship repair facility is now open in Mobile and, according to Business Alabama, already attracting business. After buying 15 acres of property including 3,000 ft of waterfront, a Panamax-class floating dry dock, 300,000 ft2 of open-air fabrication space and another 100,000 ft2 of covered fabrication space last fall (BBN #7 and 8), Austal began fitting the facility to repair, upgrade and convert ships. “Almost immediately after word got out Austal USA had purchased the additional waterfront property, we were inundated with calls from commercial captains looking to return to Mobile to have their ships serviced,” Austal USA’s Senior Vice President of Operations Mike Bell said. The company added, “The machine shop and fabrication areas are fully equipped with overhead cranes, lathes, and computer-numerically-controlled plasma cutters. Other technical services… include full-service detail design capability, 3D modeling, field engineering support and dimensional accuracy control.”