Austal USA has begun construction on its new steel shipbuilding site at its base in Mobile, Alabama. Expansion work on the facility is scheduled to be completed in April 2022.
The Australian-headquartered, global industrial provider commemorated the event on Mar 26 at the company’s shipyard as the facility will offer the capacity to meet rising steel vessel demand by the US Navy and US Coast Guard.
The new steel shipbuilding facility will allow the company to focus on several steel shipbuilding programs involved with the US Navy’s shipbuilding project, according to a company spokesperson. The endeavor will also provide a critical improvement to the defense industrial base along with the Nation’s defense.
Austal first announced plans in mid-2020 to spend about $100mn to build a steel shipbuilding facility co-funded by the US Government, to add capacity beyond its existing aluminum construction operations in Mobile. The company received $50mn in funds boosting the operation in January.
Austal USA has supplied 24 ships to the US Navy over the past nine years, including the Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship and Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport.