New Milestone in US-Korea Maritime Defense Alliance Ahead of Trump Era
7th Fleet Replenishment Ship 'Yukon' Scheduled for Regular Maintenance in India by April Next Year
Following 'Wally Shira' Ship, All Two MRO Orders This Year Secured
Hanwha Ocean (CEO President Kim Hee-cheol) has secured its second MRO project for U.S. Navy vessels.
This is the first contract following the announcement of cooperation between the U.S. shipbuilding industry and Korea by then President-elect Donald Trump, marking Hanwha Ocean as a maritime defense partner in the ROK-U.S. alliance and rewriting the history of K-defense.
On the 12th, Hanwha Ocean announced that it had won the regular maintenance contract for the USNS YUKON, a replenishment ship assigned to the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet.
Commissioned in March 1994, the USNS YUKON measures 206 meters in length and 29.6 meters in width, with a displacement of approximately 31,000 tons. Hanwha Ocean will repair the vessel by April next year and deliver it to the U.S. Navy.
Previously, on August 28, Hanwha Ocean became the first domestic shipyard to win an MRO project for the U.S. Navy’s logistics support ship, the Wally Schirra, and has now succeeded in securing an additional contract within three months.
Hanwha Ocean has won both MRO contracts ordered this year by the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet Logistics Support Center’s Singapore office. This achievement is regarded as a testament to the firm trust the U.S. has in Hanwha Ocean’s ship technology.
Last month, Admiral Steven Koehler, Commander of the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet, met with Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard in Geoje City, Gyeongsangnam-do, where they toured the Wally Schirra, which is currently undergoing maintenance. During this meeting, both parties discussed further cooperation on U.S. Navy vessel MRO projects.
Recently, the U.S. has been focusing on Korea’s excellent K-maritime defense industry for maintaining its naval power. Under the Regional Sustainment Framework (RSF) policy, the U.S. Department of Defense plans to establish logistics maintenance hubs in five Indo-Pacific countries, viewing Korea as a key base for defense cooperation.
On October 24th, Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan (right) and Admiral Steven Koehler, Commander of the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet (center), are inspecting the maintenance site of the 'Wally Shira' ship undergoing repairs at the Geoje shipyard.
It is also encouraging that President-elect Trump has shown exceptional support for K-maritime defense. This lays the foundation for expanding cooperation not only in the U.S. Navy’s annual MRO projects, which amount to 20 trillion won, but also in future warship construction.
In his first phone call with President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 7th, President-elect Trump said, “The U.S. shipbuilding industry needs Korea’s cooperation,” adding, “We are well aware of Korea’s world-class warship construction capabilities, and close bilateral cooperation is needed not only in ship exports but also in maintenance, repair, and overhaul.”
Hanwha Ocean has signed a contract to acquire Philly Shipyard located in Philadelphia, USA. Through the Wally Schirra project, Hanwha Ocean has gained a high level of understanding of the U.S. Navy’s vessel maintenance management system, earning solid trust in the field of ship MRO projects.
Kim Dae-sik, Executive Director of Hanwha Ocean’s Special Ship MRO Business TFT, emphasized, “Hanwha Ocean is becoming a trusted partner in the operation of the U.S. Pacific Fleet,” adding, “Based on world-class MRO technology, we will contribute to strengthening U.S. naval power and the ROK-U.S. alliance through timely delivery.”
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