HD Hyundai Accelerates Collaboration with US Navy in Naval Vessel Sector

Two US Navy Rear Admirals Visit HD Hyundai GRC

On the 27th, Rear Admiral Thomas Anderson and other senior U.S. Navy officials visited the HD Hyundai Global R&D Center in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, and took a commemorative photo. Photo by HD Hyundai

HD Hyundai is accelerating its business cooperation with the U.S. Navy in the shipbuilding sector.

On the 27th, senior officials overseeing the U.S. Navy's shipbuilding projects visited HD Hyundai's Global R&D Center (GRC) in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, to discuss future shipbuilding and cooperation plans in eco-friendly and digital ship sectors, HD Hyundai announced on the 29th.

The 13 high-ranking visitors to the GRC included Major General Thomas J. Anderson and Major General William Greene from the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Embassy in Korea.

Previously, in February last year, Major General Thomas J. Anderson visited HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, inspecting the state-of-the-art ships under construction such as the Jeongjo Daewang and Chungnam vessels, confirming HD Hyundai's shipbuilding capabilities.

Major General Thomas J. Anderson is the Program Executive Officer, Ships, responsible for the U.S. Navy's ship programs, while Major General William Greene is the Commander of the Navy Regional Maintenance Center and the overall head of surface ship MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul).

Joo Won-ho, Head of Special Ship Business at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Jang Kwang-pil, Director of Future Technology Research at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, welcomed the visitors by introducing the Digital Convergence Center and Digital Control Center, briefing them on HD Hyundai's world-leading advanced technologies in eco-friendly and digital ships.

HD Hyundai particularly explained its capabilities in AI-based ship solutions, hybrid electric propulsion vessels, digital twin virtual sea trials, and other ship technology developments, proposing MRO strategies for overseas ships.

Joo Won-ho, Head of Special Ship Business at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, said, "Based on our world-leading shipbuilding technology, this will be an opportunity to expand cooperation between HD Hyundai and the U.S. in future shipbuilding and MRO projects."

Major General Thomas J. Anderson of the U.S. Navy stated, "Visiting the HD Hyundai GRC and seeing the R&D facilities firsthand was a meaningful experience," adding, "I am honored to have had productive discussions about various opportunities for mutual cooperation between the U.S. and Korea in the shipbuilding sector."

HD Hyundai continues to strengthen cooperation with the U.S. in the shipbuilding field. In July, Philip S. Goldberg, U.S. Ambassador to Korea, visited HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan to discuss shipbuilding cooperation plans. Notably, Carlos Del Toro, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, who visited the Ulsan production site in February and inspected the latest ships including the Jeongjo Daewang, later facilitated a trilateral educational cooperation agreement in July between HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the University of Michigan, and Seoul National University to foster talent development in the shipbuilding industry between Korea and the U.S.