Global defence contractor Austal has secured a $26 million offshore vessel contract for the construction of one 57.6 metre High Speed Catamaran Crew Boat.
The contract is from an undisclosed operator and follows the US$34 million agreement with Caspian Marine Services Limited of Azerbaijan which Austal landed a fortnight ago for the construction of one 70 metre Fast Crew Boat.
The High Speed Catamaran Crew Boat is an advanced, multi-task crew boat capable of quickly and safely transferring 90 offshore personnel plus cargo at up to 40 knots.
It features a large, 200sqm cargo deck (allowing up to 100 tonnes of cargo to be transported) and DP2 “Dynamic Positioning” that allows stable, heave-compensated walk-to-work transfer of personnel to offshore facilities.
The vessel – to be fully constructed at Austal’s Philippines shipyard – also has search and rescue capability, with an on-board Fast Rescue Craft (FRC) available for launch quickly when necessary.
Announcing the contract at the christening of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS10) in the US, Austal Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bellamy said the latest contract would strengthen Austal’s worldwide reputation as an able and reliable partner.
“This is the second offshore vessel contract secured by Austal within as many weeks; further reinforcing our position as a preferred partner in the global offshore vessel market,” Mr Bellamy said.
“With the recent announcement of a contract to deliver a 70m Fast Crew Boat for Caspian Marine Services, this new contract further demonstrates Austal’s capability to develop effective, customised solutions for any offshore operational requirement.”
The High Speed Catamaran Crew Boat is scheduled to be delivered in the third quarter of 2016.
