Austal USA orders dry dock immediately after clearing on San Diego waterfront ship repair facility

San Diego – Immediately after finalizing a deal on a new repair facility in the Port of San Diego, Austal USA placed an order for a floating dry dock. The new floating dry dock, optimized to efficiently dock small surface combatants and similar sized ships, will be the centerpiece of the new repair facility.   

“This dry dock will greatly enhance Austal’s ability to provide the Navy and other customers a highly capable full-service repair facility located in the homeport of San Diego,” Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh said. “It will be invaluable to our customers, and we are eager to satisfy their growing demand for West coast repair facilities that include dry docks.”

The dry dock will have a 9,000 light ton lifting capacity.  It will be 531 feet (162 meters) long, 154 feet (47 meters) wide, with a maximum draft of 36 feet (11 meters). Construction on the dry dock began today and the completed vessel is scheduled to be fully operational in Austal’s new San Diego repair facility by August 2023.

This contract is one of several milestones Austal USA has achieved over the last several weeks to grow the capability and capacity of its Services business.  The acquisition of the San Diego facility and the dry dock, combined with recent contract awards, further cement Austal USA’s role in maintaining and repairing ships throughout the United States and INDOPACOM region.