Daehan Shipbuilding has secured a bridgehead to enter the maintenance, repair, and overhaul market for US Navy vessels.

Daehan Shipbuilding announced on June 8 that it was finally selected as the target for the ‘Global Competitiveness Enhancement Support Project for Small and Medium Shipbuilding Vessel MRO’ hosted by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and local governments. This project is a national strategic initiative in which the government, Gyeongsangnam-do, Busan, Ulsan, and Jeollanam-do cooperate to invest a total of 99 billion won ($76.15 million) over five years starting in 2026.

The Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) that the company is pushing to acquire is a vessel maintenance competency certification granted by the US Naval Supply Systems Command. This is considered an essential requirement to participate in bidding for US Navy MRO projects, which amount to hundreds of billions of won annually. Through this support project, Daehan Shipbuilding plans to secure global competitiveness by acquiring not only the MSRA but also the CMMC, a US vessel cybersecurity certification.

This move by Daehan Shipbuilding is expected to be an important turning point in terms of domestic naval defense capabilities. This is because it provides an opportunity to expand vessel maintenance capabilities, which had previously been concentrated in Busan, Ulsan, and the Gyeongsangnam-do region, to the southwestern region including Jeollanam-do. As Jeollanam-do is an area densely populated with shipbuilding partners, Daehan Shipbuilding’s entry into the MRO market is expected to contribute to building a mutually beneficial regional defense ecosystem and resolving the gap in the naval power maintenance system.

The global market environment is also favorable. As of 2024, the size of the global vessel MRO market is estimated to be approximately 88 trillion won ($67.69 billion), and the US Navy has recently shown moves to distribute its maintenance demand in the Asian region to allied countries. In particular, as the problem of maintenance delays within the US Navy worsens, expectations for the expanded role of Korean shipyards are higher than ever.

An official from Daehan Shipbuilding stated that this selection is a significant change that secures a new growth engine in the defense industry, moving beyond the company’s existing image as the strongest player in the mid-sized tanker market, and added that the company will achieve meaningful results in the US Navy MRO market through thorough preparation.

Source:Business Korea