Austal’s Post

This year, we celebrated yet another Austal Australia employee reaching a remarkable 30 years of service. Tim Speer is one of those individuals who breathes the rarified air of following his dreams. After completing a Naval Architecture degree, he became a DNV surveyor for 3 years, before transitioning to a small boat builder, Sea Spray Boats, to create an in-house design office. In 1994, Tim joined Austal in Western Australia as a Senior Naval Architect, and just a year later he stepped up to the role of Design Manager, as opportunities for the company and local shipbuilding industry continued to develop, at an exhilarating pace. As Tim took the lead in design, the company was transitioning from building 40 metre passenger ferries for markets such as Hong Kong, to designing much larger, high-speed vehicle passenger ferries for Europe, the US and Middle East; while also pursuing opportunities for naval vessels in Australia and the US. Some of Tim’s greatest achievements include leading the development of the Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and Joint High-Speed Vessel (now Expeditionary Fast Transport, EPF) projects for the US Navy, which has seen a total of 35 ships delivered since 2009. Tim spent a total of 6 years in the United States, helping to win the contracts and establish the project teams in Mobile, Alabama and one of his proudest moments was attending the commissioning of USS Canberra (LCS 30) in Sydney in July 2023. Later, Tim was instrumental in securing the Cape-class Patrol Boat project for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (now Australian Border Force), additional Capes and Evolved Capes for the Royal Australian Navy, Guardian-class Patrol Boats for Defence Australia, and multiple defence export projects including the High-Speed Support Vessels for the Royal Navy of Oman. Now Chief Engineer, Tim is helping the Austal Australia team prepare for multiple naval shipbuilding projects proposed under the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement with the Commonwealth, as well as design leadership and support for some of the most exciting, innovative commercial shipbuilding projects Austal has ever proposed. The #team here in Henderson, and at Austal shipyards around the world are proud to acknowledge the achievements and ongoing leadership of Tim Speer, and we take this opportunity to thank him and congratulate him again on the outstanding career milestone of 30 years’ service in 2024. #timspeer #30years #career #austal #shipbuilding