TSAMTO, October 7. The Australian company Austal Limited announced that its Austal USA division has signed the first contract for the construction of two NAVAJO-class rescue and towing vessels (T-ATS-11 and T-ATS-12) for the US Navy.
The contract value is US$ 144.6 million (198.5 million Australian dollars). dollars). The agreement contains options for the construction of up to three additional T-ATS vessels. If implemented, the total value of the contract will increase to $385.084 million. The work will be performed at enterprises in Mobile (Alabama, 54%), Chesapeake (Virginia, 20%), Jacksonville (Florida, 6%), Boca Raton (Florida, 4%), New Orleans (Louisiana, 3%) and other production sites in the United States.
Initially, in June 2021, the US Navy Command signed a contract with Austal USA worth $ 3.6 million to perform functional design in preparation for the construction of new NAVAJO-class rescue and towing vessels. The additional contract includes the development of a working draft and the construction of the first two ships.
As planned, the T-ATS will be an 80-meter multipurpose steel single-hull vessel designed for towing faulty and damaged vessels, conducting search and rescue and rescue operations, oil spill response, humanitarian assistance and surveillance. The T-ATS can also take on board container modules including cyber, electronic warfare, false targets and reconnaissance.
The agreement for the design and construction of T-ATS is the first order received by Austal USA for the development of steel ships for the US Navy and marks another important milestone in the development of the enterprise in Mobile (Alabama).
In June 2020, Austal announced its intention to invest about $ 100 million in the production of steel vessels in Mobile (Alabama) with co-financing from the US government. Austal USA started construction of new shipbuilding enterprises in March 2021. A new modern steel production plant is scheduled to open in April 2022.
