Bender Shipbuilding & Repair of Mobile (Alabama, USA) confirmed the opening of Astilleros Bender in Tampico (Mexico) as a wholly owned subsidiary of Bender. The shipyard is located on the south side of the Panuco River 10 kilometers upstream from the Gulf of Mexico. It consists of 125 acres of land and 3000 feet of river frontage accessed by a 28-foot deep channel. Astilleros Bender currently is concentrating on ship repair and has in operation a dry dock with 3000 ton lift capacity and river side repair facility open for business.

The current repair activity at Astilleros Bender is only the start of Bender Shipbuilding involvement and corporate development in Mexico, according to the company. They are currently designing a larger drydock to be constructed at Astilleros Bender to expand their service to customers in Mexico. It is intended to have it in operation within 6 months. Bender is also developing plans to build a new construction facility similar to what they have in Mobile. They stated an intention to create a world-class ship repair and new construction facility in Tampico that will make internationally competitive services and products available to their customers.