Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership with ECO
Joint Construction of Container Carriers by 2028
HD Hyundai has begun collaborating with a local U.S. shipbuilder on vessel construction. Following the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. in shipbuilding has gained momentum, and HD Hyundai is accelerating its entry into the U.S. market.
On the 19th (local time) in New Orleans, Louisiana, HD Hyundai announced on the 22nd that it had signed a "strategic and comprehensive partnership for the construction of U.S. merchant ships" with Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO). ECO is a shipbuilding group that owns five merchant shipbuilding yards in the U.S. and has built and operated 300 offshore support vessels (OSVs), earning a reputation for global competitiveness in this field.
On the 19th (local time), Han-nae Choi, Head of Planning Division at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Dino Schuessler, CEO of Edison Schuessler Offshore, took a commemorative photo at the Edison Schuessler Offshore headquarters in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. HD Hyundai
The two companies plan to jointly build mid-sized liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel container carriers at ECO's shipyards by 2028. HD Hyundai will provide ship design, procurement agency services for equipment, and construction technology support. The company will also manufacture and supply some of the blocks and invest in technical assets. In the future, they intend to expand the scope of cooperation to other vessel types and collaborate in the port crane sector, which is closely linked to security issues.
This partnership was reportedly initiated at the request of ECO. According to Clarkson Research, a shipbuilding and shipping market analysis firm, from 2022 to 2024, U.S. shipbuilders received orders for three 3,600 TEU (1 TEU equals one 20-foot container) container carriers, all placed by U.S. shipowners. HD Hyundai signed an exclusive partnership with ECO to expand business opportunities in the U.S. market.
An HD Hyundai representative stated, "The United States is our strong ally and an important business partner," adding, "Through our cooperation with ECO, we plan to actively support efforts to rebuild the U.S. shipbuilding industry and strengthen its security."
HD Hyundai is accelerating its entry into the U.S. market in line with the recent trend of increased shipbuilding cooperation between South Korea and the United States.
In April of this year, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Huntington Ingalls, the largest defense shipbuilder in the U.S., to improve shipbuilding productivity and cooperate in advanced shipbuilding technologies. It also signed a business agreement with Fairbanks Morse Defense, a defense equipment supplier, to collaborate on establishing a local supply chain in the U.S. In July of last year, HD Hyundai signed an educational cooperation agreement with the University of Michigan and Seoul National University to foster talent for the shipbuilding industries of both countries.
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