Austal Limited (ASX:ASB) is pleased to provide information about a number of contracts that Austal has secured, which help to diversify the Company’s long-term revenue base while utilising its shipbuilding and support expertise. Austal has recently been awarded contracts to:
Sustain two Cape-class patrol boats the Company built for the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard), in country
Construct an additional two Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boats (ECCPB’s) for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), announced by the Australian Government in April 2022.
Undertake the Detailed Design and Construction (DD&C) of the United States Navy’s new Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock Medium (AFDM).
Combined, the awarded contracts are worth more than A$300 million. Austal has secured a two-year contract to sustain the two Cape-class Patrol Boats the company constructed at its Australian operations for the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG). The two 58 metre vessels, TTS Port of Spain (CG41) and TTS Scarborough (CG42), will be sustained by Austal in-country, through to at least 2024.
Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said: “The new contracts are a great demonstration of Austal’s capability to take on multiple projects across diverse naval shipbuilding and support programs, in Australia and overseas. The Trinidad and Tobago support contract is another example of Austal constructing and then maintaining patrol vessels to ensure that they can operate safely and efficiently over extended durations, while providing important longer-term revenue to Austal. The two additional Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boats announced by the Australian Government two months ago have now been officially ordered, bringing the total number of vessels to be constructed to eight; demonstrating great confidence in the vessel platform by the Royal Australian Navy, who are already operating three of the patrol boats throughout Northern Australia. The competitively awarded, US$128 million contract for the Floating Dry Dock is Austal USA’s second steel vessel program for the US Navy and clearly demonstrates the Navy’s confidence in the Mobile, Alabama shipyard’s growing capability to deliver aluminium and steel vessels.”
Austal USA has commenced construction of two Navajo-class towing and salvage (T-ATS) vessels for the US Navy, marking the commencement of steel shipbuilding at the Company’s facility in Mobile, Alabama. Officially opened last month, the US$100 million facility was funded 50:50 by Austal and the United State Government. The T-ATS program is a US$145 million contract to build two ocean-going tug, salvage, and rescue capabilities to support U.S. fleet operations and will be a multi mission common hull platform capable of towing heavy ships. The United States Navy’s new Auxiliary Floating Dock Medium (AFDM) will also be constructed at Austal USA’s steel manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama. The “Rennie” type floating dock will incorporate features to improve operability and maintainability, based on Austal USA’s experience from owning, operating and maintaining a similar dry dock at its repair facility in Mobile.
Austal Australia is also delivering 21 steel-hull Guardian-class Patrol Boats for 12 Pacific Island nations and Timor Leste under the SEA3036-1 Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project, with fifteen patrol boats delivered since 2018. Austal provides in-service support to both the Cape and Guardian-class Patrol Boat fleets through an expanding service centre network including Henderson, Western Australia, Cairns, Queensland and Darwin, Northern Territory. The Guardian-class patrol boats are a class of small patrol vessels designed and built in Australia and provided to small South Pacific Ocean countries. The class is designed to be updated replacements for the Pacific Forum-class patrol boats provided to its allies from 1987 to 1997. They were designed to use commercial off the shelf components, to make them easier to maintain for the small nations that would operate them. Australia stood ready to help with training and maintenance, during the duration of the program, because Australia’s external security issues were eased if it could count on its sovereign neighbours having resources to police their own external security.
