South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy wins US Navy MRO project

Seoul, Aug 6
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, South Korea's leading shipbuilder, said on Wednesday it has secured a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) project for a U.S. Navy cargo ship.

The company will carry out the MRO work on the USNS Alan Shepard (T-AKE-3), a 41,000-ton Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo vessel, at HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co.'s shipyard in Ulsan, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, the company said in a press release.

The project is slated for completion and delivery in November, reports Yonhap news agency.

The contract marks the first MRO deal following the Korean government's proposed US$150 billion South Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation initiative, dubbed "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" (MASGA), aimed at revitalising the U.S. shipbuilding industry.

The MASGA initiative is part of a broader $350 billion investment package pledged by Seoul, following Washington's decision to lower proposed reciprocal tariffs on South Korean imports from 25 percent to 15 percent.

The company did not disclose the contract value.

HD Hyundai has launched several initiatives this year to strengthen bilateral cooperation in shipbuilding with the United States.

In April, the company signed a strategic partnership agreement with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) -- the largest defense shipbuilder in the U.S. -- for technological collaboration and joint naval ship construction.

In June, HD Hyundai entered into a strategic partnership with Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), a U.S.-based commercial shipbuilder, to enhance cooperation in the commercial shipbuilding sector.

HD Hyundai Heavy and HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard are two of the three major affiliates under HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (HD KSOE), alongside HD Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.

HD KSOE serves as a sub-holding company of HD Hyundai, formerly known as Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings.