Austal
Limited (Austal) announced that Expeditionary Fast Transport 6 (EPF
6) was delivered to the U.S. Navy on January 14 during a ceremony aboard
the ship at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, USA. The
delivery of the USNS Brunswick (EPF 6) marks the first ship in its class
Austal has delivered to the Navy in 2016. |
Austal
Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bellamy said it’s a testament to
the dedication and skill of Austal’s work force.
“The EPF program is now mature and stable. The entire team at
Austal USA has much to be proud of in achieving this. It’s a great
ship and a great program,” Mr Bellamy said.
Three additional EPF, formerly Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSV), remain
under construction in Mobile as part of a 10-ship, US$1.6 billion block-buy
contract from the U.S. Navy. The future USNS Carson City (EPF 7) will
be christened in January 2016 and will launch soon after, while modules
for Yuma (EPF 8) and Bismarck (EPF 9) are under construction in Austal’s
module manufacturing facility. Construction of Burlington (EPF 10) is
expected to begin later in 2016.
EPF 11 and 12 were fully funded by Congress in the 2015 and 2016 Omnibus
Appropriations Bills. Shipbuilding contracts for EPF 11 and 12 have
not yet been finalised however the Navy awarded Austal a $54 million
contract in October to fund long lead materials for EPF 11. |
