Austal Limited (ASX: ASB) reports that its Austal USA subsidiary has received a $273 million contract option award from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for the construction of the second Stage
Photo: Austal
Austal Limited (ASX: ASB) reports that its Austal USA subsidiary has received a $273 million contract option award from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for the construction of the second Stage 2 Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) and the acquisition of long lead-time material to support construction of a third Stage 2 OPC.
The $273 million option is part of a contract that includes options for up to 11 OPCs, with a potential value of $3.3 billion.
Construction of the first OPC, Icarus (WSMM 920), has commenced at the company’s Mobile, Ala., shipyard.
Austal Limited CEO Paddy Gregg said the OPC program is gathering momentum, with the option exercising the second OPC highlighting a unique build strategy that has included the optimization of the hull design for the first vessel, Pickering (WSMM 919).
“The Austal USA team have optimized the hull structure design of the first steel-hull OPC, Pickering, which will deliver a more efficient build process, a reduction in vessel weight and ultimately a longer vessel life expectancy,” Gregg said. “Austal USA has also developed a new 3-D model of the OPC, that is enabling each vessel module manufactured in Mobile, Alabama to be completed to an industry-leading level of completion. The team are effectively setting new benchmarks for manufacturing productivity and efficiency with the OPC program.”
The 110 meter OPC’s will provide the majority of the U.S. Coast Guard’s offshore presence, conducting a variety of missions including law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, and search and rescue. With a range of 10,200 nautical miles at 14 knots and a 60-day endurance period, each OPC will be capable of deploying independently or as part of task groups, serving as a mobile command and control platform for surge operations such as hurricane response, mass migration incidents and other events. The cutters will also support Arctic objectives by helping regulate and protect emerging commerce and energy exploration in Alaska.
Including Icarus, Austal USA has seven ships currently under construction. A new final assembly building (FA2) that will be used to support the production of the OPC’s, is now under construction.
When complete, the building will provide approximately 18,000 square meters of new covered manufacturing space. The building will consist of three bays, two of which are specifically designed to construct the OPCs
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