Austal News

SSI, a leader delivering software, services, and expertise for the business of shipbuilding, announced that Austal USA, a partner since 2005, will use its ShipbuildingPLM product lifecycle management (PLM) solution to further expand its digital transformation.This decision reflects Austal USA’s pursuit of innovation and operational excellence in shipbuilding, showing how a shipbuilding-specific digital platform can accelerate production, reduce risk, and create a single source of truth across complex programs.By leveraging ShipbuildingPLM…

The Coast Guard authenticated the keel for the future Coast Guard Cutter Pickering during a ceremony Monday in Mobile, Alabama. Keel authentication is a time-honored shipbuilding tradition marking the formal start of a vessel’s construction. During the ceremony, the sponsor’s initials are applied to a ceremonial keel plate that will be installed on the cutter, symbolically indicating the keel is “truly and fairly laid.” Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard, attended the event along with Rep.

Facility will include 150,000 square feet of covered manufacturing space optimized for serial productionNew yard will support 200 new jobs and expands shipbuilding capacity Master Boat Builders announced plans to build a new $60 million, 150,000 sq ft manufacturing facility dedicated exclusively to government and defense shipbuilding programs. The new 20-acre site is located directly across Bayou Coden from the company’s existing yard.“This new facility is about building more capability here at home,” said Garrett Rice, President, Master Boat Builders.

Expansion into Harbor Tug sector helps Master Boat Builders nearly double in size, from 200 to 400 employees building eight to nine vessels per year, and the prospect of a new drydock plus additional partnerships and government construction contracts promises to power the company forward further, faster. Garrett Rice, President, Master Boat Builders, discussed the impetus for the company’s growth, and the growth in U.S. shipbuilding overall since the start of 2025 when President…

Austal Australia has received Approval in Principle (AiP) from classification society DNV, for their Autonomous and Remotely Operated Ships (AROS) Platform Controller.The AROS Controller, designed and developed by Austal at Henderson, Western Australia, is a safety control system that provides a standardised and managed interface between the vessel’s complex engineering systems and the navigational autonomy system. Managing the transfer of information in both directions, constantly checking system health…

Master Boat Builders, Inc. announced it has taken delivery of a new floating dry dock, giving the company direct control over launch schedules and accelerating vessel deliveries.Designed and built by Conrad Shipyard, the dry dock measures 155’ long x 66’ wide with 41’ tall wing walls, features a 2,000‑ton lifting capacity, and incorporates a barge bow to enable efficient towing. Master Boat will use the dock to launch recently constructed vessels. Previously, Master Boat rolled…

Saildrone Founder and CEO Richard Jenkins shares news on Lockheed Martin's recent investment in Saildrone:Today, I am delighted to announce a $50 million investment from Lockheed Martin in Saildrone, Inc. This commercial relationship marries the world’s most sophisticated and trusted defense technology with the world’s most capable and operationally proven USV technology. Together, we will rapidly equip Saildrone USVs with all-domain defense technology for lethal military applications.

Davie Defense Inc. gives a first glimpse today of the “American Icebreaker Factory” – a planned $1 billion transformation of the historic Gulf Copper shipyard in Galveston, Texas.The American Icebreaker Factory concept was created in collaboration with Florida-based Pearlson, which has led major projects for leading American shipbuilders, including BAE Systems, Austal USA and Fincantieri Marinette.The American Icebreaker Factory project embodies the Trump Administration’s priorities…

Austal USA and Master Boat Builders, Inc. entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) establishing a strategic outsourcing partnership designed to expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity by increasing the ability of regional shipyards to take on large, complex programs for the U.S. government.The companies will collaborate on current programs under contract to Austal USA as well as collaborating on future efforts, enabling greater flexibility to meet evolving fleet requirements, aiming to reduce bottlenecks, shorten production schedules, and create surge capacity for future demand.

Incat Crowther has been commissioned by Cruise Whitsundays, part of Australian tourism group Journey Beyond, to design a 36-meter passenger vessel that will be built by Austal Vietnam.The vessel will be deployed year-round as a resort connection service between Airlie Beach, the resorts of Daydream Island and Hamilton Island and Cruise Whitsundays’ Reef World pontoons – located 39 nautical miles from shore at Hardy Reef.Designed specifically for local conditions, optimized for its routes and tailored to infrastructure…

China’s share of the tanker orderbook rose from 32.4% in 2022, to 62.6% in 2023 and then 71.2% in 2024. Its share of the container ship orderbook has shown a similar growth trajectory. The nation has ranked first in the world for new orders since 2012. Labor costs are about half of what they are in Korea and Japan, and China is the world’s cheapest steel manufacturer.Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO, says that during the past five years Chinese shipyards have built 50% of the ship capacity delivered, and Chinese shipyards now hold 66% of the ship capacity in the orderbook.

Japan clinched a landmark A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) deal on Tuesday to build warships for Australia, marking Tokyo's most consequential defence sale since ending a military export ban in 2014 as it steps away from postwar pacifism to counter China.Under the agreement, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 7011.T will supply the Royal Australian Navy with three, upgraded Mogami-class multi-role frigates built in Japan from 2029. Eight more frigates will be built in Australia.Designed to hunt submarines…

The Australian Government is accelerating the delivery of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet with the selection of the upgraded Japanese Mogami-class frigate as the preferred platform for the Royal Australian Navy’s future fleet of general purpose frigates.Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Mogami-class frigate was assessed as best able to quickly meet the capability requirements and strategic needs of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).The upgraded Mogami-class frigate boasts a range of up to 10…

The military and Coast Guard budgets are established that will benefit the U.S. ship building and repair sector, but what will stimulate the commercial yards?This author has been scratching his head of late, after a thrilling dive into July’s U.S. Big Beautiful Bill Act, and has asked several colleagues where the funding for support commercial shipbuilding can be found? To answer that, we need to look elsewhere and to future programs.Setting the SceneMany column inches have been dedicated to the decline U.S. shipbuilding, whether signaled by the relatively small presence of a U.S.

South Korea and the United States havehttps://www.marinelink.com/news/hanwha-build-usflagged-lng-carrier-528214 been discussing a shipbuilding tie-up that could include investments to modernize U.S. shipyards and more help to repair the U.S. naval fleet as Seoul seeks better tariff terms, government and industry sources said.U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made revitalizing the aging U.S. shipbuilding industry a priority to keep up with China, has repeatedly raised the idea…

An Australian AI startup developing software for crewless boats said it has been granted one of the first AUKUS exemption licences by the Australian government, allowing it to share information with defence contractors in the U.S. and Britain.Defence officials have said Australia will rely more on autonomous systems to protect its vast coastline and up to 1.2 million square miles (3.1 million sq km) of northern ocean, even as it spends billions on nuclear-powered submarines.Australia…

For the U.S. Navy, boats perform missions from mundane maintenance chores such as hull scraping and cleaning overboard discharges to clandestine special forces insertion and extraction. Some boats are about as basic as you can imagine, and some are equipped with sophisticated combat systems and weapons. Big or small, they all perform indispensable tasks for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.Boats that are carried on and launched from ships are referred to as “shipboard boats,” to distinguish them from boats based at installations ashore.

Hanwha Group received the OK from the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) to increase its shareholding in Australian shipbuilder Austal to 19.9% from the current 9.9%, the South Korean conglomerate said.Austal, which supplies defence vessels to the U.S. Navy, is seeking independent verification of this approval, according to a separate statement.Hanwha, which currently holds a 9.9% stake in Austal and holds a further 9.9% economic interest through a cash-settled total return swap…

The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), the national association representing the U.S. shipbuilding, maintenance, and repair industry, announced its annual member safety awards for the 2024 calendar year. This year, 14 shipyards are receiving awards for their achievements in safety. The shipbuilding industry continues to improve on safety metrics year after year. This commitment to safety has allowed U.S. shipyards to address and adapt their continuing operations to any obstacles that arose throughout the year.To qualify for an SCA Safety Award…

US based defense company Eureka Naval Craft has signed a partnership agreement with Australian marine tech company Greenroom Robotics.Eureka Naval Craft CEO Bo Jardine said the partnership with Greenroom will drive the most advanced autonomous systems ever developed for naval vessels and will also be spun into the workboat commercial marine market. The signing comes after the parties earlier this month unveiled designs for the first fully autonomous naval attack craft the AIRCAT Bengal…

U.S. President Donald Trump's policies that have rattled stocks around the world are benefiting Australian shipbuilder Austal, analysts said on Wednesday.Shares of the company, which supplies defence and commercial vessels to the Australian and U.S. navies among other clients, surged 35% in the three months ending March, clocking their best quarterly gains in nearly two years since June 2023.In contrast, the broader benchmark .AXJO lost about 4% on concerns of stretched valuations among financial stocks and the fallout from U.S.

Korea's Hanwha aims to buy up to 9.9% of Australian shipbuilder Austal in an after-market offer following its failed A$1.02 billion ($646.17 million) takeover bid last year, a term sheet showed on Monday.Hanwha has offered A$4.45 each for 41.2 million Austal shares, showed the term sheet reviewed by Reuters.The deal's bookrunners, in a message seen by Reuters, told investors the books had been covered for the transaction.The Korean company does not intend to make a takeover bid for Austal "at this time", the term sheet showed.Hanwha and Austal did not immediately respond to requests for commen

Austal Limited said that Austal Australasia has been awarded a contract valued between A$265 and A$275 million by Gotlandsbolaget of Sweden for the design and construction of a 130-m combined cycle, ‘hydrogen-ready’ vehicle passenger ferry. Part of Gotlandsbolaget’s ‘Horizon X’ program, the high-speed ROPAX catamaran will be the largest vessel ever constructed by Austal, and feature a unique, highly efficient combined cycle propulsion system that includes both gas and steam turbines – reportedly a first for high-speed craft.