Austal to Establish U.S. Presence

Australian shipbuilder Austal, the world's largest builder of high-speed ferries, has signed a joint venture agreement with Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Inc. (Bender) to establish a U.S. shipbuilding operation: Austal USA. Austal's Chairman, John Rothwell made the announcement that Bender, located in Alabama, would partner Austal in the U.S. The majority equity will be held by Austal. Currently the coastwise trade laws in the U.S. (primarily the Jones Act and the Passenger Vessel Services Act) generally prohibit foreign-built vessels from operating on domestic routes. More than 3,600 vessels are active in the U.S. passenger vessel industry and they carry nearly 200 million passengers each year. Tom Bender, president and grandson of the founder of Bender Shipbuilding, said, "I am looking forward to collaborating with our friends at Austal in building modern, high-speed aluminum vessels in Mobile. Our new high-tech laser cutter - the first of its kind in a U.S. shipyard - should help Austal USA achieve sizeable cost savings in building these ships." Austal is the largest and most successful builder of aluminum vessels in the world with a product range extending from 80 ft. fast ferries to massive vehicle and people carriers exceeding 330 ft in length. Typically, Austal's market leading vehicle-passenger ferries are some 65 ft longer than a jumbo jet and are capable of carrying in excess of 1,000 passenger and 200 cars at highway speeds (more than 50 miles per hour). It is expected the full product range will be built at the Mobile, Ala. shipyard. A site has been identified and construction on the first stage of the development will commence as soon as the required approvals are received. It is anticipated the site will grow in size comparable to Austal's Western Australian facility. Recruitment will begin as early as January 2000 with training of key personnel in highly specialized aluminum shipbuilding skills to take place at Austal's Western Australian Shipyard.