Austal Plans to Grow Business in Trinidad and Tobago

Austal Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Bellamy, recently met with and addressed influential political and business leaders in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, discussing Austal’s plans for growth in the Caribbean region.

During his visit, Mr Bellamy met with the Trinidad and Tobago Minister for Trade, the Honourable Stephen Cadiz, along with the Australian High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago, Philip Kentwell.

Austal established a regional Service Centre in Chaguaramas, Trinidad, in December 2009, following the successful contract award for the supply of six 30m fast patrol boats for the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard. The contract included a five-year comprehensive maintenance and support services program which included maintenance, management and performance of annual surveys, as well as shore based engineering support.

The Western Australian shipbuilder has also delivered four 41m high speed catamarans to the Trinidad and Tobago National Infrastructure Development Company Limited (NIDCO) which are currently operating as a water taxi service between San Fernando and Port of Spain in southwest Trinidad.

Mr Bellamy commented that the visit to the Caribbean nation was a success, providing an excellent opportunity to further develop strong relationships with key personnel, as well as to provide a forum by which to share Austal’s vision for growth within the region.

The continued development of the skills and qualifications of Austal staff within Trinidad is a core priority for the Company as we look to expanding Austal’s presence in the region, as well as positioning the Trinidad Service Centre to be able to take on commercial service and maintenance work. The Trinidad Service Centre is currently operating at a period of peak work load on the maintenance contract for the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard vessels. These vessels have performed well since their delivery in 2009, with the TTS Scarlet Ibis operating at 100% availability all year, with other Coast Guard vessels also operating at high availability. The staff at Austal’s Trinidad Service Centre have developed excellent working relationships with operators within the region, and have become known for their reliability, hard work and technical knowledge. We look forward to continuing to develop our relationship with vessel operators in Trinidad and Tobago, and will work to pursue further opportunities to deliver more vessels to the Caribbean region,” said Mr Bellamy.

Austal’s growth in the Caribbean complements the Australian company’s increasing international presence as an emerging defence prime contractor. Along with shipyards in Western Australia and Alabama, USA, Austal has established regional service centres in Spain, Oman and Darwin, Australia, as well as sales offices in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

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Source: Austal, July 1, 2011;