Austal Enters New Market with Egyptian Contract

Austal Ships is pleased to announce the signing of a contract with Egypt’s largest ferry operator, heralding the opening of a new market for the WA based shipbuilder.

The Egyptian contract is Austal’s third new contract in just over a month.

According to Austal’s Managing Director, Bob McKinnon, the contract signals new market opportunities.

“We are particularly excited by this contract as it creates an opportunity to penetrate the Red Sea region,” he said.

The contract represents Austal’s first sale to the Red Sea region and a first for the Australian high speed ferry industry.

The 56 metre Auto Express high speed vehicle-passenger catamaran will be constructed for Egyptian ferry operator, El Salam Maritime Co of Egypt. El Salam has a fleet of 14 conventional vessels, with this contract signalling the beginnings of a fleet upgrade.

With a maximum speed of 38 knots, the 56 metre aluminium catamaran will be the operator’s first high speed ferry and will consolidate the company’s position as the leading operator in the region.

The vehicle-passenger catamaran will operate between the Egyptian ports of Safaga, Hurghada and Sharm El Sheik and the Saudi Arabian port of Duba (future expansion of the operation will include the Safaga to Jiddah route).

Mr McKinnon also stated that the contract proves that the company’s broad based product diversification strategy is a key factor in Austal’s continued success.

“Our strategy is clearly paying off and we are well positioned to capitalise on the increased levels of enquiries we are seeing,” he said.

The Egyptian sale follows closely on the recent announcement of a sale to Portuguese ferry operator, Transtejo and the recent contract success with the US Marines Corps for lease of a high speed Theatre Logistics Vessel, currently on trial in Japan.