FAST TIMES:
A NEW AGE OF FERRY
TRANSPORTATION OPENS UP
Aussies in Alabama? That question was answered this m onth, when
Australia's Austal
Ships, a leading builder of aluminum fast ferries, unveiled
plans to construct a new shipyard in Mobile, Ala. Its partner
in the new corporation will be Bender
Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Inc., Mobile, Ala. Bender
will own a minority stake in the new corporation, Austal Ships
USA.
Marine Log broke the news in the January
print issue that Austal Ships was considering sites in Mobile
and Alameda, Calif.The Mobile Register reported on December 16
that the Mobile Industrial Development Board (MIDB) had approved
$400,000 in tax breaks for Austal Ships USA. The tax incentives
would include a one time waiver of $100,000 in sales and use
taxes, and a 10-year property tax abatement of about $30,000
annually. The new shipyard would be located on a 22-acre site
on the east side of the Mobile River.
Bender CEO Joe Mangin was quoted by the
Mobile Register as saying, "This goes a long way to convincing
them that Mobile is a good place to do business."
Austal Ships chairman John Rothwell said
the new entity would "revolutionize light weight, high speed
shipbuilding in the U.S.A."Austal's green field fabrication
facility would be developed in five phases, says Austal Ships
consultant Bill Pfister, and would eventually replicate Austal
Ships' current shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia-one of
the most sophisticated aluminum fabrication facilities in the
world.
Pfister says, "The new facilty would
be ready for production in July [2000] and would be capable of
building Austal's full range of vessels in the 30 to 50 meter
range." Besides smaller passenger ferries, this would include
"pocket-size" cruise ships and live aboard dive vessels.
He said the Maritime Administration's Title XI program, which
provides loan guarantees for shipyard startups and revitalizations,
was under consideration.
Bender Shipbuilding, itself, has used Title XI funding, combined
with the MARITECH program to significantly upgrade its own facilities.
Industry sources said that depending upon
the outfitting and configuration of the Austal fabrication yard,
initial investment could be about $10 million. Down the road,
subsequent phases could push capital costs to $50 million.
MORE
|
