Australian shipbuilder Austal has received its first commercial vessel contract, valued at AUD 44 million (USD 35 million), in Taiwan.
The contract is for two 550 passenger, 50-meter high speed catamarans, designed and built by Austal for Taiwan’s Brave Line. The contract includes an option for a third vessel of the same design.
The Brave Line catamarans will be designed by Austal in Australia and built at its shipyard in the Philippines.
“This contract builds on the continuing evolution of our fast ferry portfolio and reaffirms Austal’s position as international market leader for the quality of the vessels we design and build,” Ben Marland, Austal Vice President of Sales and Marketing, said.
“Austal has previously indicated continuing strength in the worldwide ferry industry and this adds to our recent record run of sales achieved over the last 18 months,” David Singleton, Austal Chief Executive Officer, said.
Austal has recently announced its intention to expand capacity in its Philippines shipyard through a USD 30 million investment in new infrastructure. The expansion is intended to cater for an increase in new orders already achieved with further orders expected in the next 12 months.