South Korean manufacturers outline plans to bolster US shipbuilding

South Korea’s three leading shipbuilders announced more detailed plans this month to cooperate with the Pentagon and revitalize American shipbuilding.

Representatives of South Korean industrial titans Hanwha, Samsung and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shared new insights about their work with the U.S. Navy during Korea Investment Week, which took place in Seoul from Sept. 9 to 12. The effort has become known as MASGA, or “Make American Shipyards Great Again.”

Each company is planning major shifts in current shipyard operations, The Korea Economic Daily first reported .

As the U.S. seeks to expand its maritime power to keep pace with an increasingly aggressive China , South Korean manufacturers are stepping in to help kick-start the effort.

HD Hyundai made a major industrial win with the recent reopening of a dormant shipbuilding facility in Subic Bay in the Philippines. The previously shuttered shipyard was the subject of a fierce bidding war between Chinese and U.S. investors before it was acquired by a U.S. firm and revitalized with a South Korean investment. The strategically significant shipyard was inaugurated earlier this month .

At the recent forum in Seoul, Jang Gwang-pil, vice president of HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., announced the new Subic Bay facility is being developed into an maintenance, repair and overhaul base for a variety of vessels, including frigates and patrol craft.

HD Hyundai’s recent merger of its shipbuilding operations will also see more U.S. Navy warships produced, Jang announced.

″There is a high possibility that HD Hyundai Heavy’s special ship division will work with HD Hyundai Mipo to build warships, including the Aegis destroyer,” he said.

Hanwha, which recently made history by acquiring Philly Shipyard , announced plans to create two hubs in Philadelphia and Busan, South Korea, to increase bilateral cooperation. Hanwha Philly Shipyard would function as a production center, while facilities in Busan would provide maintenance and repair services for U.S. naval vessels.

By basing production in Philadelphia, Hanwha aims to create U.S. jobs and train an American shipbuilding workforce.

At the same time, the company hopes that concentrating repair and maintenance for the U.S. Navy in Busan would also give a boost to businesses across South Gyeongsang Province in South Korea.

“By leveraging more than 1,000 suppliers in Busan and its surrounding area, we aim to create a specialized cluster capable of handling MRO for 11 U.S. Navy vessels annually,” Choi Jeong-hoon, head of special ship planning at Hanwha, told reporters.

The company performed a complete overhaul of a U.S. vessel, the USNS Wally Schirra, within six months — a record time, given the delays and maintenance difficulties that have long plagued the Navy.

Samsung Heavy Industries will expand work across five U.S. shipyards, following an agreement with U.S.-based Vigor Marine Group signed last month. The company announced that in addition to shipbuilding initiatives, it will also invest significantly in training American workers.

Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.

韩国三大造船企业本月宣布了与五角大楼合作、振兴美国造船业的更详细计划。

在9月9日至12日于首尔举行的韩国投资周期间，韩国工业巨头韩华、三星和HD现代重工的代表分享了他们与美国海军合作的最新见解。这项合作被称为MASGA，即“让美国造船厂再次伟大”。

据《韩国经济日报》率先报道，各公司都计划对其目前的造船厂运营进行重大调整。

为了应对日益咄咄逼人的中国，美国正寻求扩大其海上力量，而韩国制造商正在介入，帮助启动这项努力。

HD Hyundai近期在菲律宾苏比克湾一家闲置的造船厂重新开业，取得了一项重大工业成就。这家此前关闭的造船厂曾引发中美投资者的激烈竞购，最终被一家美国公司收购，并由韩国投资公司进行重组。这家具有重要战略意义的造船厂已于本月初正式启用。

在最近于首尔举行的论坛上，HD韩国造船与海洋工程公司副总裁张光弼宣布，位于苏比克湾的新设施正在开发成为各种船舶（包括护卫舰和巡逻艇）的维护、修理和大修基地。

张宣布，HD Hyundai最近合并其造船业务后，还将生产更多美国海军军舰。

“HD Hyundai Heavy 的特种舰艇部门很有可能与 HD Hyundai Mipo 合作建造军舰，包括宙斯盾驱逐舰，”他说。

韩华集团近期完成了对费城造船厂的收购，创造了历史。该公司宣布计划在费城和韩国釜山分别建立两个中心，以加强双边合作。韩华费城造船厂将作为生产中心，而釜山的设施将为美国海军舰艇提供维护和修理服务。

韩华通过在费城设立生产基地，旨在创造美国就业机会并培养美国造船工人。

与此同时，该公司希望将美国海军的维修保养工作集中在釜山，也能带动韩国庆尚南道各地的商业发展。

韩华特殊船舶规划负责人崔正勋告诉记者：“通过利用釜山及其周边地区的 1000 多家供应商，我们的目标是创建一个专业集群，能够每年为 11 艘美国海军舰艇提供 MRO 服务。”

该公司在六个月内对美国海军舰艇“沃利·施拉”号进行了全面检修——考虑到海军长期以来面临的延误和维护困难，这是一个创纪录的速度。

继上月与美国Vigor Marine集团签署协议后，三星重工将扩大在美国五家造船厂的业务。该公司宣布，除了造船项目外，还将大力投资培训美国工人。

齐塔·巴林格·弗莱彻曾任《军事史季刊》和《越南》杂志的编辑，以及美国缉毒署的历史学家。她拥有军事史硕士学位（成绩优异）。