A United States senator directly visited a South Korean shipyard site and materialized plans for cooperation in the shipbuilding industry between South Korea and the United States.

United States Senator Dave McCormick  visited the Hanwha Ocean Geoje Shipyard on the afternoon of Oct. 7. Senator McCormick inspected the infrastructure and production capabilities of Hanwha Ocean by touring the smart yard equipped with automated equipment and the site where actual naval vessels are being built. In particular, he took the time to verify South Korea’s naval vessel construction technology by directly boarding the ‘Pyeongtaek’, the fifth vessel of the Ulsan-class Batch-III program and the latest frigate.

The core of this visit is the expansion of cooperation linked to Hanwha Philly Shipbuilding located in Pennsylvania, which is Senator McCormick’s constituency. Senator McCormick highly evaluated Hanwha Ocean’s capabilities in all aspects, including technology, productivity, and quality, and expressed expectations that Hanwha Philly Shipbuilding will contribute to the development of the shipbuilding industry in Philadelphia. He has also publicly expressed his support for Hanwha Group’s investment plan for Philly Shipbuilding in the past.

Hanwha Ocean is establishing itself as a partner in the rebuilding of the United States shipbuilding industry by leading the ‘MASGA’ project based on its local production base in the United States. Through the Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center opened in July, the company is operating a cooperation system across the entire industry, including naval vessel design, workforce training, and supply chain establishment. Specifically, this involves jointly designing a global strategic transport vessel with Leidos Gibbs & Cox and cooperating with Delaware County Community College to train specialized personnel.

The growth of Hanwha Philly Shipbuilding, the local production base, is also clear. Compared to 2024, the early stage of the acquisition, the workforce size has doubled to approximately 2,500 people, and investments for expanding production capabilities are continuing. Achievements are also becoming visible, as the company won an order for a Missile Range Instrumentation Vessel (MRIV) from the United States Maritime Administration in July. Currently, the delivery of four National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV) has been completed, and the final fifth vessel is scheduled to be delivered next year.

Jung In-sub, President and Head of the Management Support Office at Hanwha Ocean, stated that the company is striving to expand production capabilities centered on Pennsylvania and expressed that they will continue to broaden cooperation with local partners in the United States to lead the joint growth of the South Korea and United States shipbuilding industries.

Source:Business Korea