Page 39: of Marine News Magazine (January 2026)

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Offshore In? uencers: Not New for Shipbuilding

Non-U.S. shipbuilders have previously invested in U.S. yards, Another successful foray into the U.S. market occurred in and the results have been mixed. One great success story has the late 1990s, when Austal, a stock-listed defense contrac- been the efforts of Fincantieri, investing in yards building and tor and naval shipbuilder in Australia, entered the U.S. market repairing both military and commercial vessels, mainly in the with the development of manufacturing capabilities in Mobile,

Great Lakes. In 2009, the Italian builder closed on a deal (along Alabama. With continued investment since then from sources with minority partner Lockheed Martin) to purchase Manitowoc tied to Australia, and a focus on building vessels for the U.S.

Marine Group, renamed as Fincantieri Marine Group (FMG), with Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, Austal USA continues to expand. a storied history building vessels for the military. In mid-December, 2025, reports emerged that Hanwha was

At the same time, at the beginning of 2009, Fincantieri ac- increasing an ownership stake in Austal shares; up to 19.9%.

quired Bay Shipbuilding, a yard at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, A different shipbuilding story has seen a recent transition, which under different incarnations had been building and repair- with a new chapter set to begin. Starting in the early 1990s, ing commercial and ? shing vessels at facilities since the early Singapore’s Keppel Offshore (merged into Sembcorp in 2023 1900s, with an interlude in military construction during World and rebranded as Seatrium) had a decades long relationship

War II. In recent years, newbuilding activity at the yard has in- with Brownsville, Texas AmFELS yard, most recently build- cluded the Laker MARK W BARKER, the articulated tug barge ing containerships for PASHA’s Hawaii service, after years of (ATB) MICHIGAN TRADER (for VanEnkevort), a pair of ATB’s for building for the offshore oil segment. In mid-2025, following

Kirby Corporation, and LNG barges for Crowley (the 12,00-cu.- completion of the Jones Act compliant WTIV CHARYBDIS, Seat- m. PROGRESS) and Polaris New Energy (5,500-cu.-m. CLEAN rium divested the Brownsville facility, with a sale to the Turkish

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