HD Hyundai Co., South Korea’s prominent shipbuilding conglomerate, has signed a contract with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the largest US defense shipbuilder, to together design as well as build the US Navy’s next-generation logistics support ships
The deal marks the first time a Korean shipbuilder has agreed to take part in the construction of US naval vessels.
The partnership, signed on Sunday in Gyeongju, southeast of Seoul, the host city of this week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, also marks a major expanding of cooperation between the two countries’ shipbuilding industries, which until now has focused on maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO).
Industry officials see the accord as an important step in Seoul’s USD 150 billion shipbuilding cooperation initiative, dubbed "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" (MASGA), aimed at revitalizing the US shipbuilding industry.
Executive Statement
According to Joo Won-ho, head of affiliate HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.’s special ship division, this agreement represents a concrete step toward joint participation in US Navy projects and potential investment to expand their ship production capacity in the US. It demonstrates practical defense-industry cooperation between Korea and the US.
According to Eric Chewning, HII’s executive vice president for strategy and development, an important moment in deepening shipbuilding cooperation between the US and Korea, work together to revitalize America’s shipbuilding industrial base.