The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has announced a US$50 million investment in Austal USA shipbuilding and maintenance capacity.
Austal said the DoD has entered into the agreement with Austal USA as part of the national response to COVID-19 to maintain, protect, and expand critical domestic shipbuilding and maintenance capacity.
“The scope of this agreement is still to be definitised but subject to agreement with the DoD, Austal intends to use the funds to commence investment in the development of additional capacity for steel naval vessel construction at the Mobile shipyard,” the company said in a statement.
Austal also said it would likely match the DPA Agreement funding which would take the total investment to circa US$100m.
“These investments will also have long-term benefits for US Navy shipbuilding while accelerating pandemic recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast region,” reads the company’s statement.
According to Austal, further details about the purpose and specific use of these funds will be released as they are agreed in the following months.
