Korean shipbuilders step up US shipbuilding cooperation

Korea's three major shipbuilders — Hanwha Ocean, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) and Samsung Heavy Industries — are expanding cooperation with the United States across a wide range of areas.

Taking the launch of the Korea-U.S.

Shipbuilding Partnership Center as an opportunity, they are broadening partnerships in naval ship design and construction, smart shipyard development, workforce training and supply chain expansion, positioning themselves as key contributors to Washington's efforts to rebuild its shipbuilding industry.

The two countries had previously agreed to allocate $150 billion of a broader $350 billion investment package toward shipbuilding cooperation.

Hanwha Ocean signed a Professional Services Agreement with Leidos to design the Global Fast Sealift (GFS), advancing an April memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on next-generation naval ship design, strengthen U.S. shipbuilding capacity and pursue global defense opportunities.

Leidos subsidiary Gibbs & Cox has designed more than 70 percent of U.S.

Navy surface combatants since World War ...