Page 30: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2021)

SHIP REPAIR AUSTAL USA

Harley Combs, Director, Austal

West Campus Ship Repair

Austal USA Opens Ship

Repair Business in Mobile

Known best for its construction of U.S. Navy warships, Austal USA in

September 2020 acquired waterfront property along the Mobile River and established a commercial ship repair facility. Mike Bell, Austal’s VP

Operations and Harley Combs, Director, Austal West Campus Ship Repair discuss the plan. By Greg Trauthwein ustal USA’s long-established shipbuilding facility in across the Mobile River from Austal USA’s 165-acre corpo-

Mobile, Alabama, is a modern ship manufacturing rate headquarters, resulted in the opening of a new home for

Afactory, one of the largest aluminum warship builders commercial ship repair in the Gulf of Mexico. At the same in the world producing new ships for the U.S. Navy. But the time, it is installing a new 100,000 sq. ft. steel panel line at its company is not resting on its laurels, investing mightily in the headquarters, scheduled to open in Q2 2022; a pair of invest- middle of the pandemic to create both the capacity to build ments that will help drive the company’s business for the next steel ships as well as the opening of a new ship repair facility. generation.

“As part of the overall plan, we wanted to be in control of

Inside Austal West Campus our own destiny when it came to launching ships, and that’s where West Campus came into play,” said Bell, noting the Austal’s acquisition included 15 acres of waterfront proper- new drydock that came with the new land purchase. While ty spanning almost 3,000 linear feet of waterfront pier space, commercial ship repair is new for the company, Austal USA a 20,000-ton certi? ed Panamax-class ? oating dry dock, a ops are global like that of its main customer – the U.S. Navy 300,000 sq. ft. outside fabrication area, and 100,000 sq. ft. of – and today it has a growing facility in San Diego, of? ces in covered fabrication facilities located 30 miles from the Gulf

Singapore and ‘? y away’ teams that are perpetually on the of Mexico.

move to service the ? eet it has built. A big selling point for the new repair yard is its proximity

The company’s recent acquisition of property, directly to Austal USA headquarters. “We believe in being vertically 30 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • November 2021

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