Hanwha Ocean Secures Second MRO Contract for US Navy Ship

Hanwha Ocean, Paving a New Milestone in the ROK-US Maritime Defense Alliance Ahead of the Trump Era

Hanwha Ocean's second MRO project for US Navy vessels, the 'USNS YUKON'. Photo by Hanwha Ocean

Hanwha Ocean is rewriting the history of 'K-Maritime Defense' by consecutively winning MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) contracts for U.S. Navy vessels. This good news comes after the recent official announcement by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump regarding 'cooperation with the Korean shipbuilding industry,' and Hanwha Ocean is being recognized for pioneering a new milestone in the Korea-U.S. maritime defense alliance.

On the 12th, Hanwha Ocean announced that it had secured the regular repair project for the USNS YUKON, a replenishment ship assigned to the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet.

The USNS YUKON, commissioned in March 1994, measures 206 meters in length and 29.6 meters in width, with a displacement of approximately 31,000 tons. Hanwha Ocean will repair this vessel by April next year and return it to the U.S. Navy.

Earlier, on August 28 of this year, Hanwha Ocean became the first domestic shipyard to win the MRO project for the U.S. Navy's logistics support ship Wally Schirra. Within three months, it succeeded in securing an additional contract, achieving the remarkable feat of winning both MRO projects ordered by the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet Logistics Support Center's Singapore office this year. This has led to Hanwha Ocean being evaluated as having earned solid trust from the U.S. in 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, and toured the Wally Schirra, which is undergoing maintenance. At this meeting, both parties discussed further cooperation on U.S. Navy vessel MRO projects.

Recently, the U.S. has been paying attention to Korea's excellent K-Maritime Defense for the maintenance of its naval forces. 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.

It is also encouraging that President-elect Trump is unusually supportive of K-Maritime Defense. This lays the foundation for expanding cooperation not only in the U.S. Navy's MRO projects, which amount to about 20 trillion won annually, 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 cooperation with Korea,” and added, “We are well aware of Korea’s world-class warship construction capabilities. I believe close bilateral cooperation is necessary not only in ship exports but also in maintenance, repair, and servicing.”

In particular, Hanwha Ocean has signed a contract to acquire the Philly Shipyard located in Philadelphia, USA, and through the Wally Schirra project, it has gained a high level of understanding of the U.S. Navy vessel maintenance management system, earning solid trust from the U.S. 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 reliable partner in the operation of the U.S. Pacific Fleet,” adding, “Based on world-class MRO-related technology, we will contribute to strengthening the U.S. Navy’s capabilities and the Korea-U.S. alliance through timely delivery.”