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Austal (ASB) announces the expansion of its vessel support and maintenance presence in the Middle East following the award of a technical services contract with Saudi Arabian ferry operator The Maritime Company for Navigation.  The contract award follows the recent opening of Austal service hubs in Egypt and Oman, and a new regional headquarters in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai).

Under the contract, Austal will provide rapid response to technical issues related to three large Austal vehicle ferries, including spare parts supply, for a period of up to five years.  Austal Chief Operating Officer Andrew Bellamy commented; “Valued at just under AUD $1 million over 5 years, this is another important strategic step in growing Austal’s presence in the Middle East region.”  “With similar contracts also in place in Oman, Egypt, Malta and Trinidad and Tobago, Austal’s vessel service and support offering is now providing long‐term, predictable revenue streams independent of our order book.”  The three vessels include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s two 69 metre vehicle ferries “Jazan” and “Farasan”, delivered in 2009, and 56 metre vehicle ferry “Fares 1”, delivered in 2002.

Austal is the world leader in the design and construction of customised, high performance aluminium vessels for both commercial and defence applications. With shipyards in Western Australia and the USA (Mobile, Alabama), Austal has delivered more than 200 vessels for customers around the world.

Established in Western Australia in 1988, Austal’s product range includes passenger and vehicle‐passenger ferries, patrol boats, theatre support vessels, combat ships, multi‐role vessels and luxury private live‐aboards. Austal is also an established provider of worldwide vessel maintenance and management services.

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Austal Limited (ASB) confirms an unconditional contract has been signed with a value of approximately AUD $12 million for the technical management and maintenance services of two high-speed vehicle-passenger ferries owned by the Government of Egypt. The technical management and maintenance services will be undertaken over a three-year period and includes options for an additional two years. Work will be performed by Austal’s Service Department on-site in Egypt and will utilise the region’s existing maintenance docking facilities where required. The two Austal designed and built 88-metre ferries “Cairo” and “Riyadh” were delivered to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in December 2008. The vessels were later gifted to the Egyptian Government to improve the standard of ferry services across the Red Sea.

Austal Managing Director Bob Browning commented; “Building vessel maintenance and support revenue is an important part of providing longer term, predictable earnings outside of our traditional product segments. This contract augments a growing portfolio of service contracts, both scheduled and ad hoc, and demonstrates the global vessel support capabilities of Austal.”

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