Hanwha Ocean Begins Joint Development of US Transport Vessel... Expands Cooperation on Workforce Training and Supply Chain

One Contract and Two MoUs Signed at Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center Opening
Building a Supply Chain Centered on Philly Shipyard
"Will Become the Key Driving Force Behind the MASCAR Project"

Hanwha Ocean has agreed to jointly design a transport ship and cooperate on workforce development and supply chain construction with major U.S. companies. The strategy is to strengthen local production bases and technical collaboration, targeting the global naval vessel market by supporting the revitalization of the U.S. shipbuilding industry and expanding Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation.

At the opening ceremony of the Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center, Hanwha Ocean signed a "professional services contract" with Leidos Gibbs & Cox for the joint design of a global strategic transport ship. In the commemorative photo (from left), Kim Jung-kwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy; Jung In-seop, President and Head of Management Support at Hanwha Ocean; Mike Rickels, Vice President of Leidos Gibbs & Cox; and Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of Commerce are posing. Hanwha Ocean

Hanwha Ocean announced on the 24th that it had signed contracts for the design and development of a global strategic transport ship with key U.S. partners and entered into memoranda of understanding (MOUs) for workforce training and supply chain building at the opening ceremony of the Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center, held in Washington D.C. on the morning of July 23 (local time).

Hanwha Ocean signed a professional services contract with Leidos Gibbs & Cox, a U.S. naval ship design specialist, for the joint design of a global strategic transport ship. This builds on the memorandum of understanding signed by both companies in April for strengthening naval shipbuilding capabilities for the U.S. and allied navies, evolving it into a concrete main contract.

The two companies have agreed to jointly develop technologies for global strategic transport ships and to establish a design quality assurance system. By combining Hanwha Ocean’s shipbuilding capabilities with Leidos Gibbs & Cox’s expertise in ship design and engineering—having designed over 70% of the U.S. Navy’s surface ships since World War II—they plan to introduce a reliable, proven platform to the U.S. and global markets.

The global strategic transport ship will be designed for dual-use: for logistics transport and other commercial purposes in peacetime, and as a strategic asset capable of rapid military logistics delivery in times of contingency. As a dual-use platform, it simultaneously delivers strategic national security value and economic efficiency, offering a solution to meet the diverse needs of the naval vessel market in the U.S. and worldwide.

Hanwha Ocean also signed an MOU with Hanwha Philly Shipyard and Delaware County Community College for cooperation in shipbuilding technology education and development. The goal is to cultivate skilled local workers to meet demand in the U.S. shipbuilding industry, including through the development of instructor training programs.

In addition, Hanwha Philly Shipyard signed MOUs for supply chain collaboration in shipbuilding with two organizations—the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Philadelphia Growth Partnership. By collaborating to discover local supply chain partners and establish a regional shipbuilding industry ecosystem, the aim is to strengthen the U.S. shipbuilding supply chain and expand Hanwha Philly Shipyard’s production capacity.

Jung Inseop, President and Head of Management Support at Hanwha Ocean, said, “We are fully prepared to contribute to the revival of the U.S. shipbuilding industry and the advancement of Korean shipbuilding. Centered on local production bases, we will expand cooperation in the areas most needed by the United States and become the core driving force of the MASCAP project.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.