Shipbuilding Facility News

Americraft Marine, one of the maritime subsidiaries of Libra Group that owns and operates a Jones Act shipbuilding facility in Palatka, Fla., has announced the appointment of Peter Fetten as Chairman of Americraft.A seasoned leader with four decades in the marine engineering and shipbuilding sectors, Fetten will help shape the strategic direction of Americraft Marine as it works to advance U.S. shipbuilding and the demand for Jones Act vessels. Americraft Marine's St. Johns Ship Building…

Babcock International Group (Babcock) is creating more than 1,000 new jobs at its large-scale, advanced manufacturing and shipbuilding facility in Rosyth.The new job opportunities will include 400 apprenticeships, 350 production support operatives, skilled engineers, tradespeople, and graduates to support programs like the Type 31 frigate design and build."Attracting and retaining talent is essential to the future success of our business and directly benefits the local communities in which we operate," said David Lockwood, Chief Executive, Babcock International Group.

The city of Jeffersonville, Ind. announced plans are underway to redevelop the shuttered site of one of the nation’s oldest, largest and best-known inland shipbuilders.The city said it is working with the property's owner American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) to develop a master plan for the 80-acre site along the Ohio Riverfront that was once home to Jeffboat. The southern Indiana shipyard was founded in the 1800s and served as one of Jeffersonville's largest employers until it shut down in 2018 amid a national slowdown in barge construction.As part of an agreement with ACBL…

The United States' National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued three safety recommendations following its investigation into the February 1, 2021, engine room fire aboard the bulk carrier Roger Blough.The Roger Blough was docked in winter layup at the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding facility on Sturgeon Bay, Wis. when a fire started in the engine room. The cargo-unloading conveyor belts then ignited, causing extensive damage throughout the aft section of the vessel. The shipkeeper on board departed the vessel without injury. No pollution was reported.

Dutch maritime services firm EMAR Offshore Services has bought two Damen Fast Crew Suppliers (FCS) 2206 for an undisclosed fee.The first vessel, named E-Six, has already begun operations in Angola, supporting the local oil and gas industry, and will be joined by the E-Seven shortly, Damen said.The 22-meter Damen FCS 2206 design features a 25m² cargo deck and the capacity to carry up to 42 personnel plus two crew at speeds of up to 32 knots.The vessels of this design have a range of up to 315nm at maximum speed in its standard configuration but…

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA on Monday said it celebrated the start of construction on the company’s first steel ship, a U.S. Navy Navajo Class Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS 11).“It seems like only yesterday we were breaking ground on our steel shipbuilding facility and here we are, a little over a year later, beginning construction on our first steel ship,” said Austal USA Vice President of New Construction, Dave Growden.Austal USA, which has built a number of aluminum vessels for government and commercial customers…

HII said Thursday that the company’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division plans to hire more than 2,000 full-time shipbuilders as part of its future workforce plans."The new shipbuilders will join a skilled workforce that delivers critical capabilities to HII’s national security customers, including amphibious warships, destroyers and national security cutters. Ingalls Shipbuilding is located on an 800-acre facility, having recently completed a state-of-the-art upgrade that includes covered workspaces to keep shipbuilders dry and cool…

U.S. private equity firm Cerberus will acquire for $300 million a debt-laden shipyard in the Philippines at a former U.S. navy base close to the South China Sea, the facility's trustee and two sources with knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday.The fate of the strategically located Subic Bay shipyard has been a national security concern for defense chiefs, with fears it could be taken over by state-run firms from China, with which the Philippines has a long history of mistrust.In 2019…

Strategic Marine announced it has completed the acquisition of a significantly larger shipbuilding facility in Singapore in a move intended to boost the company's shipbuilding capacity and product range.Strategic Marine has acquired the fixed infrastructure as well as the lease of the shipyard at 5 Benoi Road and has completed the lease transfer from JTC Corporation, the lessor of the shipyard. Notable features of the facility include a 5,000 DWT Dry Dock (L: 105M x W: 18.5m x D: 8m) and a 6…

Known best for its construction of U.S. Navy warships, Austal USA in September 2020 acquired waterfront property along the Mobile River and established a commercial ship repair facility. Mike Bell, Austal’s VP Operations and Harley Combs, Director, Austal West Campus Ship Repair discuss the plan. Austal USA’s long-established shipbuilding facility in Mobile, Ala., is a modern ship manufacturing factory, one of the largest aluminum warship builders in the world producing new ships for the U.S. Navy.

Austal has delivered two 58-meter Cape-class Patrol Boats to the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard (TTCG). The patrol boats, TTS Port of Spain (CG41) and TTS Scarborough (CG42), were delivered at a handover ceremony held at Austal Australia’s Henderson shipyard Friday. These are the first vessels of the type Austal Australia has delivered to an export market.Austal has so far delivered twelve Cape-class vessels in total and has six more under construction at its shipbuilding facility…

Centuries-old maritime craftwork and advanced technology help carbon-free seaborne trade.It was a chance meeting that changed two lives. It may also change the way the world thinks about maritime shipping.An accomplished sailor, Danielle Doggett loves tall ships—the large wind-powered sailing vessels that carry passengers and cargo. Her fascination with the big ships started in her teens, sailing on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes and eventually on the St. Lawrence II, a 72-foot two-mast brigantine built in the 1950s for youth sail training.

Perth-based ship manufacturer, Austal has penned a contract for the design and construction of a 115 meter, high-speed catamaran for Molslinjen of Denmark.The contract worth A$136 million is a follow-up order to the 109 meter high-speed catamaran Express 4, delivered to Molslinjen in January 2019, the new Auto Express 115 will be the largest ferry (by volume) ever built by Austal.The vessel will be fitted with a new generation of medium speed engines that are LNG compatible, and is designed with the potential to upgrade to LNG fuel in the future.Construction will commence in the third quarter of 2020 and delivery of the vessel will be in the first quarter of 2022.

Australian shipbuilder Austal Ltd and U.S. private equity firm are considering a joint bid for a strategically located but debt-laden Philippine shipyard, the facility's trustee said on Wednesday.Hanjin Philippines, a unit of South Korea's Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd, in January defaulted on $1.3 billion in loans, of which $900 million is owed to South Korean banks and the rest to five Philippine lenders.Austal and Cerberus are interested in the distressed shipyard…

Veecraft Marine, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Maritime Holdings and African-based global aerospace and technology company Paramount Group,  opened its new premises at a ceremony held in Cape Town. Veecraft Marine has manufactured more than 60  maritime platform solutions in various classes since its inception in 2002, totaling more than $130 million of contracts. Leveraging its specialization in the construction of 20 to 30 meter vessels, the company has secured an order book valued at more than $13.5 million.

The Royal Canadian Navy's second Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS), the future HMCS Margaret Brooke, is now structurally assembled at Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax Shipyard.On Friday, May 3, the bow section of the second AOPS was transported on heavy lift transporters from inside the Halifax Shipyard's indoor shipbuilding facility outside to land level. Work will continue over the coming weeks to fully join the bow mega-block and its components to the centre and stern mega-blocks, which were transported to land level in September 2018.With all three sections of the second AOPS joined, further outfitting of the ship will continue.

Austal celebrated the christening of Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) the future USNS Puerto Rico (EPF 11) with a ceremony at its shipbuilding facility this morning. Puerto Rico is the eleventh of 12 EPFs that Austal has under contract with the U.S. Navy with a combined value of over $1.9 billion.Nine Spearhead-class EPFs have been delivered and are serving as an affordable solution to fulfilling the Military Sealift Command’s requirements worldwide. The future USNS Burlington is scheduled for delivery to the Navy later this month and two more EPFs…

Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark said it has acquired the assets of Alabama-based Horizon Shipbuilding, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2017.Metal Shark will assume ownership of Horizon’s fully developed 35-acre shipbuilding facility in the Mobile Bay region, following a motion approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Alabama on June 5, 2018.The Horizon facility, which features separate east and west yards both fronting a dredged deepwater inlet…

One of the world’s leading shipbuilders, Luerssen, has teamed with Australian engineering and construction firm Civmec to create a new force in naval shipbuilding and exports. The joint venture, Australian Maritime Shipbuilding & Export Group (AMSEG), will partner Luerssen Australia, the prime contractor and designer for the Australian Government’s Offshore Patrol Vessel program, with West Australian-based Civmec, soon to list on the Australian Stock Exchange. It is intended that AMSEG will play a significant role in the build of ten OPVs in Henderson, Western Australia and in driving an export shipbuilding business that will target opportunities around the region.

Shipbuilder Austal has delivered its eighth Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) to the U.S. Navy.The future USS Tulsa (LCS 16) is the second Austal designed and built LCS delivered to the Navy this year and will be the 13th LCS to enter the fleet.Tulsa’s delivery precedes the future USS Manchester (LCS 14) commissioning, which will take place in New Hampshire at the end of May.Five LCS remain under construction at Austal’s Alabama shipyard. Charleston (LCS 18) is preparing for sea trials. Assembly is underway on Cincinnati (LCS 20) and Kansas City (LCS 22) and modules for Oakland (LCS 24) and Mobile (LCS 26) are under construction.

Marine equipment manufacturer Schoellhorn-Albrecht said it has been awarded a subcontract from Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) to design and build various equipment for the U.S. Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC). Schoellhorn-Albrecht was selected for the deck machinery, deck fittings, accommodation ladder system and structural castings including the shaft strut and stern tube. The OPC is the U.S. Coast Guard’s largest shipbuilding program. The U.S. Coast Guard’s current contract calls for ESG to build 11 OPCs to replace the medium endurance cutters.

Austal celebrated the christening of Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) the future USNS Burlington (EPF 10) with a ceremony at its state-of-the-art shipbuilding facility this morning. Burlington is the tenth of 12 EPFs that Austal has under contract with the U.S. Navy with a combined value of over $1.9 billion. “Austal is excited to get Burlington one step closer to joining the fleet” said Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle. Rear Adm. Dee L. Mewbourne, Commander, Military Sealift Command, spoke at today’s event. “T-EPFs are operating around the world supporting maritime security operations, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, logistics support, and multiple international and joint exercises,” said Mewbourne. The ship’s sponsor, Mrs.

Ocean Tankers, the provider oil tanker shipping and chartering services to oil companies and trading houses, has ordered six handy-sized tankers to be built at the Chinese shipbuilding facility Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding, said a report in Reuters. The report said that the Singapore based tanker company has placed the order for an undisclosed sum as the company renews and expands its fleet and ships are expected to be delivered by 2020. The order is for 23,500-deadweight tonne (dwt) tankers that can carry crude, clean or dirty oil products, to be delivered in stages by the end of the decade. The latest order brings the total number of new vessels that Ocean Tankers has ordered to 28, with 12 more optional units. Ocean Tankers has a modern fleet of more than 100 oil tankers of various sizes.