Austal USA Expanding to Make Steel Ships; Yard Looks to Bid on Coast Guard Offshore Patrol...

The Austal USA shipyard in Alabama that specializes in aluminum ship construction is officially on its way to also offering steel ships, breaking ground on a new facility on Friday meant to open up new business opportunities with the Navy and Coast Guard in the short term.

By April 2022, the yard will be transformed to have separate production lines and facilities for aluminum ships and steel ships – the former continuing to build Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ships (EPFs), the company hopes, and the latter building the Offshore Patrol Cutter, the Light Amphibious Warship or eventually the Constellation-class frigate, Larry Ryder, the company’s new vice president of business development and external affairs, told USNI News on Friday.

“We’ve been a great builder of aluminum ships; we want to become the Navy’s premier builder of these mid-sized steel ships going forward,” Ryder said.