Austal Australia has been approved to bid to provide maintenance services for US Navy (USN) and Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships, according to an ASX announcement on Monday.
“With this approval, Austal can provide a range of vessel repairs, maintenance and in-service support to USN and MSC ships operating throughout South East Asia,” Austal Chief Executive David Singleton said.
The Agreement of Boat Repair (ABR) approval enables Austal to bid to provide emergent repair services to USN and MSC ships deployed to the region. These include Austal designed and built ships.
“As the designer and builder, no-one knows the Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) or Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) better than us, and we’re naturally very pleased and proud to now have the opportunity to provide local support for these vessels to the U.S. Navy, as opportunities arise,” Singleton said.
The ABR demonstrates Austal’s global capability to provide OEM support to major naval fleets, according to Austal.
Austal has delivered ten Independence-class LCS to the U.S. Navy since 2010 and continues to construct six vessels at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. A total of 19 Independence-class LCS have been contracted, along with 14 Spearhead-class EPF’s, 11 of which have been delivered to the U.S. Navy.