US MSC Charters Westpac Express Catamaran for 1-5 More Years
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DID has covered the operational success of the Westpac Express, a high-speed catamaran from Austal that looks like a larger version of the fast ferries it sells all around the world (most recently to Oman). The Westpac Express has been intrumental in changing the way the US Navy approaches sealift, and future programs like the Joint High-Speed Vessel (JHSV) owe a great deal to the innovative designs and performance of Australian shipbuilders Austal and Incat. Westpac Express also provided Austal with a foundation of manufacturing experience and customer comfort that led to the innovative GD/Austal trimaran design for the new Independence Class “Flight 0” Littoral Combat Ship.
Westpac Express isn’t a Navy-owned ship; technically, it’s a chartered vessel. In July 2005, we noted an 18-month extension to its charter. Now that service period is being extended still further via a new charter, as the vessel continues to prove its usefulness (Hat tip: reader Lee Wahler).
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Originally described as a Theatre Support Vessel (TSV), WestPac Express is now more commonly referred to as a High Speed Connector (HSC), and was first chartered to the III MEF in July 2001 for a proof of concept period. That was the first time the US military had contracted a commercial vessel of this type for military support. The charter was so successful that after competitive tenders, Military Sealift Command signed a three year charter in January 2002 that was subsequently extended to February 2007.
In 2005, MSC again sought competitive tenders for a new charter of up to 55 months, and when the competition was over, Austal Hull 130 Chartering LLC in Mobile, AL beat 8 other offers. They received a $13.4 million firm-fixed-priced, reimbursables contract for the charter of high speed vessel MV Westpac Express.
The ship will continue to transport the Marine Corps’ Okinawa-based 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force and their equipment to other countries in the Western Pacific in support of USMC operations, training and exercises. It has an 1,100 nautical mile range.
The contract includes 4 one-year options, which could bring the total award amounts to $88.7 million ($55.3 million plus an estimated $33.4 million for fuel and reimbursables) if exercised. The contract is expected to commence in February 2007; the base will run until September 2007, but the contract could run to September 2011 with all options exercised. Funding will use FY 2007 funds.
This contract was competitively procured, with 100 proposals solicited and eight offers received by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command in Washington, DC (N00033-06-C-3308).
See also Austal’s May 31, 2006 corporate release.
