Austal Philippines matures with second delivery

Major investment by Perth shipbuilder Austal (ASX: ASB) in its Philippines yard is paying off with the delivery of a second large passenger ferry for Taiwan’s Brave Line.

The yard, trebled in size since opening in 2011, delivered its second 50 metre high-speed catamaran ferry capable of carrying 550 passengers.

At the same time construction is underway of a 109 metre catamaran ferry for Fjord Line of Norway and a 118 metre trimaran for Fred. Olsen S.A. in the Canary Islands.

Austal CEO David Singleton said: “The Philippines team continue to deliver these high-quality vessels, showcasing their capabilities to successfully combine Australian intellectual property and efficient, low-cost Asian construction.

“There has been considerable interest from other customers based on the high quality and performance of the two vessels for Brave Line.

“We expect more orders of the platform in the future.”

Recent investment in the yard at Cebu has seen the construction of an assembly hall measuring 120 metres long, 40 metres wide and 42 metres high.

This is second only in size to those in the United States where Austal builds two classes of warship for the US Navy.

Meanwhile in Perth the company’s Henderson yard is building ferries and 21 Guardian class patrol boats for export to Pacific nations.

Picture: Austal/Philippines Cebu shipyard

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