Austal USA, the American arm of the West Australia based shipbuilder Austal, has received approval to assume the lease of Marine Group Boat Works in the Port of San Diego, USA.
Austal USA, which expects to take on the lease within 45 days, said it would the 15-acre site to focus on ship repair for United States Navy, Military Sealift Command, and Coast Guard ships.
According to the company’s statement, site will include a newly-built dry dock designed specifically to handle small surface combatants and other small to medium size ships.
“Austal USA will establish a full service ship repair capability providing maintenance and modernization for small surface combatants, autonomous vehicles, and other vessels,” reads the statement.
“The site will include a dry dock optimized to execute availabilities on littoral combat ships and other small surface combatants.
“Services include technical and material support, topside work, and dry docking availabilities.”
Austal’s CEO Paddy Gregg said the Port’s approval of the lease highlighted “the successful, continued expansion of Austal USA’s service business in the United States”.
“Austal USA’s presence is growing across the United States and this latest expansion of facilities in San Diego enables our service business to deliver even greater through-life support for vessels operating on the West Coast,” Mr Gregg said.
Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh said the investment would insure that company customers are receiving the Austal brand quality throughout the lifecycle of the ships it delivers.
“As the industry leader for on-schedule and on-budget delivery to the United States Navy, Austal USA has made continuous improvement a cornerstone of our culture and operations,” Mr Murdaugh concluded.
