HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., one of the world’s leading shipbuilders, has secured its first-ever maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) contract for a US Navy vessel – a milestone in South Korea’s push to deepen bilateral defense and shipbuilding cooperation with Washington.
The top Korean shipbuilder said on Wednesday that it has clinched a contract to conduct scheduled maintenance on the USNS Alan Shepard, a 41,000-ton Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo and ammunition ship assigned to the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet.
The company didn’t reveal the contract value.
The project also represents the first US Navy MRO order for a Korean shipbuilder following Seoul’s $150 billion shipbuilding cooperation initiative, dubbed "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" (MASGA), aimed at revitalizing the US shipbuilding industry.
HD Hyundai Heavy's shipyard in Ulsan (Courtesy of HD Hyundai) The 210-meter-long vessel, named after Shepard, the first US astronaut to travel into space, and commissioned in 2007, will undergo maintenance starting in September at HD Hyundai Mipo Co.'s dockyard in the southeastern port city of Ulsan.
The work will include cleaning its propeller, inspecting onboard equipment, and maintaining various other tanks, according to HD Hyundai.
The ship is expected to be redelivered to the US Navy in November.
RIVAL HANWHA OCEAN’S DEAL IN JULY
The contract follows a similar MRO win by rival Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean Co., which last month secured a refit order for the USNS Charles Drew, part of the US Navy’s Western Pacific operations.
A baseball cap bearing the slogan 'Make America Shipbuilding Great Again,' crafted by the Korean government and modeled after the 'MAGA' cap associated with US President Donald Trump's presidential campaigns “This MRO contract carries great significance as the first tangible outcome of the MASGA proposal,” said Joo Won-ho, head of HD Hyundai Heavy’s special ship division. “As a leading Korean shipbuilder, we will do our utmost to complete this project successfully and set a precedent for future cooperation.”
The deal comes just weeks after Seoul and Washington reached a breakthrough in a series of trade negotiations, including an agreement to expand shipbuilding cooperation and jointly tackle tariffs on maritime goods.
The MASGA initiative is part of a broader $350 billion investment package pledged by Seoul, following Washington's decision to lower proposed reciprocal tariffs on Korean imports to 15% from 25%.
(Graphics by Daeun Lee) GREATER ACCESS TO US DEFENSE, COMMERCIAL SHIP MARKET
Through the MASGA deal, Korea hopes that greater access to US defense and commercial shipbuilding markets could help reinvigorate its shipyards, which have faced stiff competition from Chinese rivals.
HD Hyundai has been actively building its US portfolio in line with this strategic pivot.
Earlier this year, it signed a strategic partnership agreement with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) – the largest defense shipbuilder in the US – for technological collaboration and joint naval ship construction.
(Graphics by Daeun Lee) In June, HD Hyundai entered into a strategic partnership with Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), a US commercial shipbuilder, to enhance cooperation in the commercial shipbuilding sector.
HD Hyundai also hosted a Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation forum featuring faculty from the University of Michigan and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June, further underscoring its commitment to building a long-term presence in the US market.
OPEN THE DOOR FOR KOREAN SHIPBUILDERS
Industry watchers said HD Hyundai’s latest win could open the door for more contracts involving US naval assets stationed in the Pacific, especially as Washington looks to diversify its ship repair operations away from domestic yards increasingly stretched by demand.
Hanwha Ocean's booth at MADEX, an international maritime defense expo, held in Busan, Korea on May 28, 2025 “It’s a small step for now, but it will be a giant leap for the Korean shipbuilding sector,” said an executive at a Korean shipbuilder. “If Hyundai and Hanwha can prove their capabilities on these trial orders, it could unlock a steady pipeline of MRO work from the US Navy and even the commercial sector.”
In January, HD Hyundai said it aims to secure MRO contracts for two to three US ships by year-end.
Meanwhile, Hanwha Ocean returned the Wally Schirra, a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship commissioned in 2009 and named after famed US astronaut and Korean War veteran Walter Marty Wally Schirra Jr., to the US Navy after undergoing MRO work in March.
