Austal opens steel ship facility

MOBILE, Ala. - Austal USA opened a state-of-the-art $100 million facility Tuesday for the production of steel ships for the U.S. Navy and other customers. The addition of steel capability adds to the company's aluminum shipbuilding expertise. Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh called it a game-changer. Gov. Kay Ivey joined Austal leaders and other guests, including representatives of the Navy, Coast Guard and the Embassy of Australia, at a ceremony on Tuesday to formalize the opening of the steel facility. The 117,000-square-foot manufacturing addition will house computerized and robotic steel processing equipment to handle all current and future demands of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard. In addition, a 60,000-square-foot stock yard will be utilized for handling the raw steel and a 19,500-square-foot paint facility will provide the ability to paint and blast simultaneously in two separate cells, or both cells can be combined to paint super-modules. Austal’s Alabama shipyard has delivered 15 Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) and 12 Expeditionary Fast Transports (EPF) to the Navy while another seven total aluminum Navy ships are under construction.(Source: Made in Alabama, 04/13/22)