"Hanwha Considering Philly Shipyard Expansion... 'We Need More Space'"

WSJ Quotes Hanwha Defense USA CEO
Considers Acquiring Additional Shipyards in the U.S.
Philly Shipyard Mentioned as Candidate Site for Korean Nuclear Submarine Construction

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on January 8 (local time), Hanwha is considering acquiring additional shipyards in the United States alongside the expansion of the Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia.

Yonhap News Agency

Michael Coulter, the newly appointed CEO of Hanwha Defense USA (HDUSA), which oversees Hanwha's U.S. defense operations, told WSJ, "We need more space for shipbuilding," confirming the company's intentions.

The Philly Shipyard, acquired by Hanwha in December 2024, was once the largest naval shipbuilding base on the U.S. East Coast. However, following the end of the Cold War and the subsequent decline of the U.S. shipbuilding industry, its production capacity sharply diminished. Currently, it only produces about one commercial vessel per year. While the shipyard is gaining attention as a symbolic site for the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project "MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again)," Coulter noted that with only two dry docks, there are clear limitations in responding to increased demand.

According to WSJ, Hanwha is in discussions with federal, state, and local governments to expand the production facilities and storage areas at the Philly Shipyard. This also includes securing access to unused or underutilized dry docks in the Philadelphia region.

Additionally, to handle excess orders, Hanwha is exploring options to build ships at dry docks outside the Philly Shipyard and is seriously considering acquiring other shipyards in the United States within the next few years. Coulter emphasized HDUSA's commitment to expanding its shipbuilding business, stating, "This is a historically very special moment."

HDUSA has formed a partnership with Havok AI, a U.S. company specializing in unmanned vessel (drone) software, to pursue contracts to supply hundreds of unmanned surface vessels to the U.S. Navy.

The Trump administration recently allocated more than 3 billion dollars (approximately 4.4 trillion won) in defense funding for small- and medium-sized unmanned vessel projects. Hanwha Defense USA and Havok AI plan to collaborate on developing unmanned vessels around 200 feet (approximately 60 meters) in length.

The Philly Shipyard is also being discussed as a candidate site for building Korea's nuclear-powered submarine, which is to be developed under a Korea-U.S. summit agreement. While the South Korean government maintains that the submarine hull must be constructed domestically, U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned the Philly Shipyard as a candidate site for construction in October last year.

Regarding this, Coulter stated that Hanwha has sufficient capability to build submarines in either the United States or South Korea, and that the decision will be left to the two governments.

Last month, President Trump announced the U.S. Navy's "Golden Fleet" initiative and named Hanwha as a potential partner to build the fleet.