The EPF is a high-speed vessel used to rapidly deploy and redeploy units and cargo between small shores across various areas of operations. Photo by Sgt. Kris Bonet/U.S. Army

Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Austal USA has been awarded a $57 million contract for long-lead-time material and production engineering for expeditionary fast transport 13.

The deal, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, comes under a cost-plus-fixed-fee undefinitized contract for the EPF 13.


The EPF vessels are used for high-speed, shallow-draft transportation of personnel, supplies and equipment for the Navy, Marine Corps and Army.

Austal has built or is under contract for the previous 12 EPF vessels, which are designed in Australia -- Austal is based there -- and built at the company's Mobile, Ala., facility.

The vessels include a flight deck for helicopters, as well as an off-load ramp designed for "the types of austere piers and quay walls common in developing countries," among other locations, according to the company.

Work on the contract will be performed in Michigan, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Texas, as well as other locations both inside and outside the United States.

Austal has been obligated $43.4 million from fiscal 2018 Navy shipbuilding and conversion funds at the time of the award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year.

Work on EPF 13 is expected to be completed by November 2021.