Austal wins $US34m boat contract
Shipbuilder Austal has won a $US34 million ($44.5 million) contract to build a 70m passenger catamaran for Caspian Marine Services of Azerbaijan.
The 150-person capacity vessel will be built jointly at the company’s Philippines and Henderson shipyards with delivery expected in the third quarter of calendar 2016.
Caspian Marine Services operates a fleet of offshore marine support vessels, serving the offshore oil and gas exploration and production industry in the Caspian Sea.
The so-called fast crew boat will transport crew and cargo to offshore platforms, operated by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and British Petroleum (BP).
Austal chief executive Andrew Bellamy said the contract was another significant milestone in Austal’s penetration into the offshore crew boat market.
“The award reinforces Austal’s continuing leadership in high-speed aluminium vessel construction and is a great opportunity to further mature the integration of our supply chain between our
Philippines and Henderson operations,” he said.
The contract builds on the award of two 45m crew transfer vessels for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), currently under construction at Austal’s Philippines shipyard.
Shares in Austal were up 4.5 cents, or 2.51 per cent, to $1.835 at 9.15am.
