Austal joint venture secures contracts for four new high- speed aluminium ferries

Aulong Shipbuilding, a joint venture between Austal and Guandong Jianglong Shipbuilding of China, has secured contract worth A$20 million for the construction of high speed aluminium ferries in China. The company will design and build four 42 metre high speed catamarans for Xidao Dazhou Tourism Co Ltd.

Image: Aulong

Austal Chief Executive Officer David Singleton said: “This A$20 million order is a great start to 2018, following our record sales in 2017 when we added eight commercial vessel orders worldwide, worth over A$380 million.”

 “Our strategic objective in China is to establish our joint venture, Aulong, as a highly credible brand leader in the very large, mainland Chinese market.”

Construction of the aluminium ferries will commence from Aulong’s Zhongshan shipyard in Guandong Province in March 2018, with delivery scheduled for early 2019.

“With the benefit of Austal’s extensive portfolio of high speed aluminium ferries, Aulong is attracting new and existing customers and anticipates additional orders from mainland China in the following months,” according to company press release.

The aluminium ferries will carry up to 399 passengers each, at speeds in excess of 20 knots.