Austal USA has recently announced the company received a contract from the U.S. Navy with a potential value of over $3 billion.
According to a press release from May, the Mobile-based manufacturer will primarily handle “detail design and construction” for up to seven T-AGOS-25 class surveillance ships. The ships will provide passive and active submarine surveillance for the U.S. Navy’s anti-submarine warfare mission.
The project will create 800 new jobs initially in Mobile. By next fall, that number will be closer to 1,800, and is expected to keep growing.
Vice President of Business Development and External Affairs Larry Ryder said the shipbuilding industry has a promising future in Mobile.
“We're going to be growing over the next three to four years. We're going to add somewhere around 2,600 jobs. So, that's going to have a huge impact locally,” he said. “We're going to continue to bring in new workforce, train folks up in the shipbuilding industry, not just at Austal in Mobile, but all around the Gulf Coast. It's a great trade for folks to get into.”
Around 40% of the work for the entire project will be performed at the company’s headquarters in Mobile. Shipyards in New Jersey and Louisiana will pick up the rest of the work, among others.
The contract includes several other options such as provisional items orders and a data rights buyout. If all options are exercised, Austal’s construction will continue through 2034 and will reach the full potential of the contract’s value, totaling $3.195 billion.
According to Ryder, the city of Mobile has been crucial to the success of the company.
“Part of our success is how well integrated we are with the community," he said. "We get great support from the city and county, mayors and boards, commissions, the local Chambers of Commerce [and] our delegation here on the hill. They've all been an amazing part of the support we've gotten and helped us grow.”
Ryder said Austal hopes to expand the shipbuilding industry throughout the Gulf Coast.
