MAY 13, 2013 — Following on from the strategic partnership with Singapore's Sembawang Shipyard Pte Ltd announced in January (see earlier story), Austal has now secured similar agreements with Unithai Shipyard and Engineering in Thailand and Cam Ranh Shipyard in Vietnam.

Austal Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bellamy stated: "We are very proud to have partnered with such reputable shipyards and we look forward to building mutually beneficial relationships to support the defence and commercial vessels in the region.

"In particular, we are focused on developing a comprehensive capability tailored to support the requirements of the U.S. Navy's fleet of Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) and Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV), both of which are expected to operate in the region," he said, noting that the first LCS recently deployed to the region.

Austal is currently contracted to build ten 103 metre JHSVs under a US$1.6 billion contract and eight 127 m Independence-variant LCSs, six of which are a part of a 10-ship US$3.5 billion contract. Austal has already delivered one LCS and one JHSV.

"We have our own people and facilities in the western and northern Australia, as well as in the Philippines, and we are now well down the road of expanding our support capability both geographically and in terms of facilities and manpower," Mr. Bellamy said.

"Aligning with these capable shipyards is an efficient and effective way of rapidly expanding the area and customer base to which we can make our specialist capabilities available."