Aulong joint venture to build four high-speed passenger ferries

The Aulong Shipbuilding joint venture has secured a contract to design and build or four passenger-only ferries for Xidao Dazhou Tourism.

The partnership between Austal and China’s Guandong Jianglong Shipbuilding won the contract totalling AU$20 million (US$16.1 million) for the 42-metre, high-speed catamarans.

Austal Chief Executive Officer David Singleton said the aluminium ferries would carry up to 399 passengers at speeds more than 20 knots and will operate from Xideo, a tourist island off Sanya City, in the Hainan Province.

Construction will begin at Aulong’s Zhongshan shipyard in Guandong Province in March.

Delivery is scheduled for early 2019.