HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has secured its first contract for a maintenance, repair and overhaul, or MRO, project with the United States Navy, the Korean shipbuilder said Wednesday.
According to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the USNS Alan Shepard, a 41,000-ton dry cargo and ammunition ship of the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet, will begin MRO work at a berth near HD Hyundai Mipo shipyard in Ulsan in September.
The Alan Shepard is expected to be delivered to the US Navy in November after completing the MRO work, including propeller cleaning, maintenance of various tanks and inspection of onboard equipment.
The MRO contract with the US Navy marked the first order since Seoul and Washington struck a 15 percent tariff deal last week. During the negotiations, under the slogan “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” or “MASGA,” the Korean government proposed a $150 billion shipbuilding investment fund to support Korean shipbuilders investing in the US shipbuilding sector.
“This MRO contract is highly significant as it marks the first contract since the government’s proposal of the Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation initiative, MASGA,” said Joo Won-ho, head of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ naval and special ship business unit.
“As Korea’s leading shipbuilder, we will spare no effort in successfully completing the MRO for the US Navy auxiliary ship.”
HD Hyundai has signed partnerships with Huntington Ingalls Industries, the largest defense shipbuilder in the US, and Edison Chouest Offshore, a US shipbuilding group, to work with American players in both the defense and commercial shipbuilding sectors.
hwkan@heraldcorp.com
