US Navy extends Austal contract

The US Navy has extended its contract with shipbuilder Austal for the charter of its WestPac Express vessel, under a deal potentially worth about $US29.9 million.

Austal said the charter period had been extended for 10 months, with three option periods.

The WestPac Express has been charted to the US Navy for the deployment of marines and their equipment in the Western Pacific continuously since July 2001

The ship is a 101-metre high speed catamaran that holds up to 900 personnel and up to 550 tonnes of vehicles and equipment.

It can operate at speeds up to 36 knots, or 70 kilometres an hour.

“The success of WestPac Express reflects Austal’s capability to provide high-speed platforms for military operations and the breadth of Austal’s global support services,” the company said in a statement.

In August, Austal reported an 11 per cent fall in full-year profit to $31.9 million, despite record revenue and paying off $109.9 million in debt within the past two years.

Austal’s share price rose by 1.6 per cent to $1.26 per share at 10am.