Navy-backed USA Fund acquires Alabama Shipyard site to boost sub production

U.S. Navy Photograph

In a move that sees the Navy partnering with private equity and private industry, the Alabama Shipyard site in Mobile, Ala., has been acquired by the United Submarine Alliance (USA) Qualified Opportunity Fund (the USA Fund) and renamed the Mobile Naval Yard.

In an email, Alabama Shipyard confirmed to us that it will continue operations on a portion of the site as a tenant.

The USA Fund has been launched by private equity firm CapZone Impact Investments, which today said that the fund will “serve as a platform between the U.S. Navy, investors, suppliers, contractors and local leaders to harness the power of the American economic engine for the benefit of our country’s defense readiness.”

The USA Fund is co-chaired by Col. Jack Jacobs, U.S. Medal of Honor recipient, and Kimberly Lake, Chair of CapZone. The USA Fund was formed as a Qualified Opportunity Fund that targets investments in the maritime industrial base.

According to Naval Sea Systems Command, the Mobile Naval Yard, “will prioritize U.S. Navy maritime infrastructure investments and sustainment activities with the goal of developing an additional 75% of the site to support submarine production, workforce training, and industrial capacity, including facilities aimed at serving unemployed and underserved communities. These efforts will significantly boost the capacity of the submarine industrial base while enhancing workforce training, recruitment, and retention across the entire Gulf Coast.”

“Today’s announcement underscores our commitment to finding innovative and creative solutions to accelerate submarine production and is emblematic of my Maritime Statecraft initiative that seeks to incentivize expansion of our national shipbuilding capacity by engaging new, forward-leaning stakeholders and leveraging the power of public and private investment,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. “This announcement answers my call for investment into small-to-medium size shipyards, both active and dormant, that were previously the backbone of our Nation’s maritime power, and I look forward to continuing to work with industry on future initiatives to strengthen our maritime industrial base.”

NAVSEA says that the agreement includes contractual mechanisms that support Navy oversight and authorities to safeguard Navy and national security interests. The project is expected to create approximately 3,000 new, sustainable jobs while preserving all current employment at the shipyard. ​

A key player in all this will be Austal USA which, according to a regulatory filing by parent Austal Ltd, has been awarded a $512 million Navy contract that provides funding for Austal USA to invest as a partner in the USA Fund.

“Ownership of facilities acquired by the Fund will remain with the USA Qualified Opportunity Fund in which Austal USA is a limited partner but which is not part of the Austal Group,” says the filing.

“This contract is separate and in addition to the $450 million contract signed with General Dynamics Electric Boat,” adds the filing. That earlier GD award provides funding for Austal USA to design, build, and outfit a new module fabrication and outfitting facility in its Mobile shipyard.  Construction of the new building will start this fall and be complete in 2026.  When fully operational, the building will support approximately 1,000 new jobs at Austal USA and provide capability to fabricate, outfit, and transport submarine components.