Austal USA is an American

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

based on Blakeley Island in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. It is a subsidiary of the Australian shipbuilder

Austal Austal is an Australian-based global ship building company and defence prime contractor that specialises in the design, construction and support of defence and commercial vessels. Austal's product range includes naval vessels, high-speed passeng ...

, operating under a Special Security Arrangement which allows it to work independently and separately on some of the most sensitive United States defense programs despite its foreign ownership. Austal USA was formed in 1999 when Austal formed a 70:30

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

with Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co to build ferries. Austal bought out its partner in September 2006. Notable projects for the shipbuilder include the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

's ''Independence'' class littoral combat ship (first launched in 2008) and

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

's ''Heritage''-class cutter (contract awarded in 2022).

Projects

Austal USA's first contract was for two crew supply vessels for service in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. These were followed by a ferry for Lighthouse Fast Ferry of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Austal USA built the ''

Lake Express Lake Express High-Speed Ferry is an American company that operates a seasonal ferry service across Lake Michigan between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Muskegon, Michigan. The Lake Express Milwaukee terminal and the company headquarters are located nea ...

'' for service across

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

, and the ''

Alakai ''HST-2'', formerly named USNS ''Puerto Rico'' and ''Alakai'', is a vessel owned by the United States Navy Military Sealift Command. She was originally Hawaii Superferry's first high-speed ferry. The vessel was later chartered by Bay Ferries, B ...

'' for

Hawaii Superferry Hawaii Superferry was a Hawaii-based transportation company that provided passenger and vehicle transportation between Honolulu Harbor on the island of Oahu and Kahului Harbor on Maui. Legal issues over environmental impact statements and prot ...

. '' Huakai'', the second high-speed vehicle-passenger

catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...

for Hawaii Superferry has been launched at Austal USA. At long, the new vessel is longer than the ''Alakai'', thanks to a bi-fold ramp, added by Austal to its stern, for use in austere ports without shore-side loading facilities, making it suitable for military use. The

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...

series ''

MegaStructures ''Megastructures'' is a documentary television series appearing on the National Geographic Channel in the United States and the United Kingdom, Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, France 5 in France, and 7mate in Australia. Each episode is an ed ...

'' featured an episode in September 2007 that detailed the construction, launch, and sea trials of the ''Alakai'', the first catamaran Hawaii Superferry. Austal USA is also currently constructing the ''Independence'' class of

littoral combat ship The littoral combat ship (LCS) is either of two classes of relatively small surface vessels designed for operations near shore by the United States Navy. It was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeat ...

s for the

, based on a advanced

trimaran A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreati ...

seaframe. In March 2015, Navy Secretary

Ray Mabus Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. (; born October 11, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previously served as the State Auditor ...

testified before Congress that the Navy intends to purchase a total of 52 the vessels. The final 20 will be upgraded with new capabilities. The cost of each ship is about $350 million. It was announced in November 2008 that Austal USA had won a

contract to build ten

Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport The ''Spearhead''-class expeditionary fast transport (EPF) is a United States Navy–led shipbuilding program to provide a high-speed, shallow draft vessel intended for rapid intra-theater transport of medium-sized cargo payloads. The EPFs can r ...

ships. The design, with a

seaframe, was drawn from the Austal-built MV ''Westpac Express''. Unlike the Littoral Combat Ship, the Joint High Speed Vessel is for transport, not combat. On July 22, 2010, Austal USA hosted a keel-laying ceremony at its shipyard to signify the erection of the first modules on USAV ''Spearhead'' (JHSV 1), lead ship in the 10-ship Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) program, The JHSV program has a potential worth of over $1.6 billion for the company. On December 27, 2012, the navy awarded its final option under its current contract, and ordered JHSV-10. Austal USA also signed a contract for 10 Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSVs). One of them, the Trenton (JHSV 5) completed acceptance trials March 13 and was delivered on April 13, 2015 to the Navy's Military Sealift Command. On May 5, 2016, Austal USA has been awarded a $18.5 million contract from the Navy for the 12th Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) vessel. The

awarded Austal USA a contract on June 30, 2022 to build up to 11 Offshore Patrol Cutters under Phase 2 of the program with a potential total combined price of $3.3 billion if all 11 ships are ordered.

Legal

Unionizing efforts

Following complaints from the

Sheet Metal Workers' International Association The Sheet Metal Workers' International Association was a trade union of skilled metal workers who perform architectural sheet metal work, fabricate and install heating and air conditioning work, shipbuilding, appliance construction, heater and bo ...

(SMWIA), Austal USA has twice been found to have engaged in unfair labor practices with respect to the organizing effort of unions by the

National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Natio ...

. Unionization had been rejected by employees in elections held in May 2002 and April 2008. A third attempt in August 2011 was again rejected with a vote of 613 against unionization to 367 for it. The SMWIA filed a new complaint with the labor board after the result.

Discrimination allegations

In March 2008, the company was sued by 22 employees for alleged racial discrimination and a

hostile work environment In United States labor law, a hostile work environment exists when one's behavior within a workplace creates an environment that is difficult or uncomfortable for another person to work in, due to illegal discrimination. Common complaints in sexua ...

. The company was found not guilty in separate discrimination trials that culminated in October 2011 and January 2012. A request for a new discrimination trial was rejected in March 2012 by a federal court. After appeals, seven of the plaintiffs were allowed to proceed to trial. Juries found in favor of Austal USA in April 2015.

References

External links

Company website
{{Mobile, Alabama, state=collapsed Companies based in Mobile, Alabama Defense companies of the United States Shipbuilding companies of the United States Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1999 1999 establishments in Alabama