Page 12: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2001)

The Fiber Is Lit The Towers Are Going Up k f,'W!ttl

The Network

Is Running

John Rothwell, chairman of

Austal Ships sees the alliance with

Bender Ship- building as a sound invest- ment for the future of alu- minum shipbuid- ing in the U.S. bring Austal USA closer to its goal of 1,000+ workers within five years. A number that Austal Ships group chair- man John Rothwell hopes will be achieved sooner than later. It is safe to say that sooner is probably the operative word since the yard, aspires to hold 500 employees by the end of 2002.

The Beginning of a Franchise

The story of the Austal Bender alliance begins with the parent company,

Austal Ships, venturing to the U.S. in search of a yard with which to establish a partnership. This quest was led by group chairman Rothwell, who saw a market for aluminum ship construction 16 East 41st Street, (Jen York, IJY 10017 www.maritelusa.com in the U.S. With his headquarters locat- ed worlds apart in Western Australia, the company was looking to expand upon its shipbuilding expertise by branching out from its mostly European exports.

While Austal is a leader in fast ferry construction for this market that relies heavily on ferry transport across its seas and channels, the company wanted to grab hold of the U.S. shipbuilding mar- ket, but was prohibited from doing so because of the Jones Act.

While Austal Ships has also enjoyed positive relationships in its home state with the construction of patrol and police vessels for the Australian Cus- toms Service and Navy, most recently the three police boats that were con- structed this summer for the New South

Wales Police Service by subsidiary

Image Marine (see MR/EN September 2000), the company wanted to position itself to profit from the lucrative U.S. defense market. In fact, Rothwell, who spoke with MR/EN from Austal's head office down under, shared that he trav- eled to Washington, D.C. on a variety of occasions with both Pfister and Tom

Bender, Bender Shipbuilding's presi- dent to attend workshops at the U.S.

Navy's Carderock Division that dealt with high speed freighters for military use — something that Austal USA hopes to add to its repertoire.

On discussing Bender Shipbuilding as his choice, Rothwell, who established

Austal Ships in 1988, spoke of his immense trust and respect for both com- pany president Bender, and Bruce

Croushore, the yard's V.P./general counsel as one of the deciding factors in his decision to team up with the yard. "I talked with many yards in the

Southern U.S. and felt that we didn't meld with them," Rothwell said. "When

I met Bruce (Croushore) and Tom (Ben- der), I thought them to be very astute and knowledgeable of their craft as well as financial control — they were honest in a sense that it was 'what you see is what you get'. "We are pleased with our partnership with Bender," he added.

The new U.S. outlet's premiere project is a spec vessel that is scheduled for completion this summer. Currently being constructed at a site that is tem- porarily being leased by Austal until the main shed is complete at the beginning of 2001, the 82 ft. (25 m) vessel that is able to move at 26-27 knots, will be con- structed as a passenger ferry that will house propellers instead of wateqets.

While the vessel is not being built to specific owner requirements, Pfister cited that there is no doubt in his mind that suitable buyer will come forward.

His high confidence level stems from the fact that several would-be owners have come forward expressing interest

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