Austal USA Lands $43.4 Million USS Canberra Repair Contract; SmartBank, ServisFirst Expand in Business Roundup

MOBILE, Ala. — Mobile shipbuilder Austal USA has been awarded a $43.4 million contract to maintain, modernize and repair the littoral combat ship USS Canberra, a vessel the company built at its Mobile River shipyard. The award leads a roundup of Alabama business news that also includes a Tennessee-based bank turning a former Trussville brewery into a branch and a Homewood-based bank breaking ground on a new office in Florida’s capital.

Austal USA Wins $43.4 Million Contract for USS Canberra

Austal USA’s new contract covers maintenance, modernization and repair work on the USS Canberra. The work will be performed in San Diego, where the ship is homeported, rather than at the company’s Mobile headquarters.

The Canberra is an Independence-variant littoral combat ship, the aluminum trimaran design that Austal USA built in Mobile for the U.S. Navy. The ship drew international attention when it was commissioned at a 2023 ceremony in Sydney, Australia, the first U.S. Navy commissioning held in that country. It is named for the Australian capital and honors the Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra, which was lost while fighting alongside U.S. forces in the Battle of Savo Island in 1942.

Repair and sustainment work has become an increasingly important line of business for Austal USA as its fleet of Independence-variant ships ages. The company operates a ship repair facility in San Diego to support Navy vessels on the West Coast, alongside its large shipyard on the Mobile River, where it builds steel and aluminum ships and is one of the region’s largest employers.

The contract comes amid significant uncertainty about the company’s future ownership. As South AL News reported last week, an Australian report said the Trump administration has been the driving force behind a possible sale of Austal USA by its Australian parent, Austal Ltd., to South Korea’s Hanwha, which has pursued the Mobile operation for up to $1.2 billion. The report said top U.S. officials had refused to give the company more relief on money-losing Navy contracts, including its Navajo-class towing, rescue and salvage ships.

SmartBank Turns Former Trussville Brewery Into a Branch

Tennessee-based SmartBank has purchased the former Steele Hall Brewing property in Trussville and plans to convert it into a bank branch. The location will be the bank’s 15th in Alabama.

The property, at 227 Main St. in Trussville’s downtown area, sold for $1.2 million, according to reports on the transaction. The brewery building has been closed since January. SmartBank plans to retool the space for banking use.

Trussville is a growing suburb northeast of Birmingham in Jefferson County. The purchase gives SmartBank a high-visibility downtown address for its newest Alabama branch.

ServisFirst Breaks Ground in Tallahassee

ServisFirst Bank, based in Homewood, has broken ground on a $10 million office in Tallahassee, Florida. The 10,000-square-foot building will bring the bank’s commercial banking and mortgage teams together in one centralized location.

ServisFirst, founded in 2005, has grown into one of Alabama’s larger homegrown banks, with a focus on commercial lending and offices in several Southeastern states. The Tallahassee project expands the bank’s presence in Florida.

What It Means for South Alabama

Of the three developments, the Austal USA contract carries the most direct connection to the Mobile area. Although the Canberra work itself will be done in California, the award adds to the company’s portfolio of Navy work at a time when its future ownership is being closely watched by local leaders, workers and suppliers on the Gulf Coast.

Austal USA’s shipyard has been a cornerstone of Mobile’s maritime economy for more than two decades, and decisions about its ownership and contracts ripple through the region’s network of subcontractors, suppliers and training programs. South AL News will continue to follow developments in the possible sale and the company’s Navy contracts.

The two banking announcements, while centered elsewhere, reflect continued expansion among Alabama-connected financial institutions, both by Alabama banks growing into neighboring states and by out-of-state banks growing their Alabama networks.