South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI), a subsidiary of HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, announced on 11 July that it has signed a signed a Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) with the US Navy, making it the first Korean shipbuilder to be qualified to bid on maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work for ships under the Military Sealift Command as well as the navy’s combat vessels.
The new MSRA will be in force for the next five years, HD HII noted. It had submitted its proposal to the US Navy’s Naval Supply Systems Command in May 2023, and successfully subjected its facility to the required safety and quality assessments as well as security and financial audits.
“By leveraging our unrivaled expertise in building 18 exported naval ships and the MRO business know-how accumulated in the Philippines, we will smoothly enter the US naval MRO market and further expand the horizons of Korean naval export,” said Joo Won-ho, head of naval and special ship business unit at HD HHI.
HD HHI also established a logistics facility at Subic shipyard to provide MRO support to the Philippine Navy, which has acquired two multimission corvettes and two Jose Rizal-class missile frigates based on the Republic of Korea Navy’s Incheon (FFX-I) class from the company. The two frigates have already been commissioned by the Philippine Navy, while the first corvette was launched at HD HHI’s Ulsan shipyard in June.
HD HHI also hosted US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro at its shipyard in February to discuss possible cooperation, demonstrating its interest in further expansion into the US naval and government market.
The company subsequently hosted the US Ambassador to South Korea, Philip Goldberg, after the MSRA was signed.
by Jr Ng
