Swiftships is a

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

and

marine engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circ ...

company headquartered in South Louisiana, USA. Company operates globally and specialized in the construction of small to medium sized

vessels Vessel(s) or the Vessel may refer to: Biology *Blood vessel, a part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body *Lymphatic vessel, a thin walled, valved structure that carries lymph *Vessel element, a narrow wat ...

made of

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

. Swiftships is involved in ship design, construction, repair and maintenance activities.

History

Founded by Fred Sewart in 1942, Swiftships began as Sewart Machine Works and then as Sewart Seacraft in 1946. Company became a supplier of “ Swift Boats” to the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

(Swiftships delivered 193 Fast Patrol Crafts to the US Navy throughout the conflict). The mission objective of the Swift Boat was to provide the Navy with a fast boat that could patrol the river shores for enemy soldiers. In 1969 the company was renamed as Swiftships. Since 2004 and for the next years, Swiftships built ships for the oil and gas industry of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

and restored vessels for the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. Company has created its first fully

unmanned surface vehicle An unmanned surface vehicle, unmanned surface vessel or uncrewed surface vessel (USV), colloquially called a drone boat, drone ship or sea drone, is a boat or ship that operates on the surface of the water without a crew. USVs operate with v ...

in 2015, called Anaconda (AN-1), and later the Anaconda (AN-2), for which Swiftships teamed with the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a Public university, public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus Universi ...

and augmented technology developers. Since 1942 Swiftships has designed and built over 600

naval vessels A naval ship (or naval vessel) is a military ship (or sometimes boat, depending on classification) that is used by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose. Generally, naval ships are damage resili ...

and commercial platforms.

Co-production

In 2008 the company signed a contract with the

Egyptian Navy The Egyptian Navy (), also known as the Egyptian Naval Forces, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy in the Middle East as well as Africa, and is the twelfth largest (by the number of vessels) navy in the w ...

, initiating a co-production program, building vessels in-country. The partnership includes a yard in Alexandria, where the company produces patrol crafts. In 2009, Swiftships was awarded a contract by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

to provide Follow on Technical Support on behalf of the

Iraqi Navy The Iraqi Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Armed forces of Iraq. Formed in 1937, initially as the ''Iraqi Coastal Defense Force,'' its primary responsibilities was the protection of Iraq's coastline and off ...

that included the establishment of a Ship Repair Facility in Umm Qasr, Iraq.

Yards

In 2020, Swiftships operates 3 yards in USA and 1 co-production yard (JV) with

Alexandria, Egypt Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

: *

Morgan City, Louisiana Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States, located in the Acadiana region. The population was 11,472 at the 2020 census. Known for being "right in the middle of everywhere", Morgan City is located southeast of ...

* New Iberia, Jennerate, Louisiana *

Freeport, Texas Freeport is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, located on the Gulf of Mexico, founded in 1912. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 10,696, down from 12,049 in 2010, where Hispanic (U.S. ...

* Egyptian Shipyard Repair Building Co. - partnership with the Egyptian Navy to co-produce Swift vessels in Egypt under an approved MLA by the United States government.

Products

Ship types include: * Fast Patrol Vessels: company supplied vessels to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

( Swiftships Model 35PB1208 E-1455),

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

, US governments and other. * Landing Craft: company has long-term agreement with a US government to build up to 32 new series LCU 1700 Class. *

Corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

s: Swiftships started program with

Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...

to build multi-purpose naval platforms, 75 meter corvette, for security and high threat missions. * Fast Supply Vessels: to Rodi Marine and other commercial groups. * Unmanned Surface Vessels- Anaconda (AN-2)

References

{{PTF boat Shipbuilding companies Marine engineering organizations Companies based in Louisiana American companies established in 1942 PTF boat