Austal has secured an order for a 41 metre high-speed catamaran from Comoros, a group of islands of the east coast of Africa.

The vessel has been ordered by SGTM for a price of AUD 15.5m ($10.7m) and is due to be delivered in early 2021.

The contract will become effective when the required down payment is received, which is expected in the next few days, Austal said.

It said the new vessel is based on an “existing and proven” design, but will feature some customer defined design modifications.

The vessel will be built at Austal’s facility in Vietnam and provide production continuity to the facility as it completes a 94 metre ferry for a customer in Trinidad and Tobago.

Austal chief executive David Singleton said the new contract was welcome as Austal continued to build on its investment in facilities and people in its new Vietnam shipyard.

“We’re very excited to be building this new ship for SGTM, our first destined for the Comoros Islands, and especially pleased that our proven vessel design continues to evolve to meet the needs of operators worldwide,” he said.

“In the highly competitive 40–50 metre high-speed catamaran market, Austal has led the global marketplace, with 80 vessels now built by the company since the early 1990s.”

SGTM has operated an Austal built vessel for the past six years and said this played a part in its decision to award the newbuilding contract.

“Based on the outstanding performance of Ntringui Express, which was originally delivered to Japan in 1997 and bought by us in 2013, we knew we had to talk to Austal about our first new build,” said SGTM director Michel Labourdere.

Established in 2004, SGTM operates three passenger vessels and two freight transport ships between the islands of Mayotte, Anjouan and Great Comoros, carrying more than 100,000 passengers annually.