HD Hyundai Heavy Industries announced on April 24 that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania, U.S.A., to provide MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Operations) operations for ships and business vessels ordered by the U.S. government.
Representatives from both sides, including Joo Won-ho, CEO of HD Hyundai Heavy’s Specialty Marine business, and Steinar Nerbovik, CEO of Philadelphia Shipyard, attended the signing ceremony.
Philly Shipyard was previously a US state-owned shipyard that was converted into a commercial shipyard in 1998, and Norway’s Aker Group is its largest shareholder with a stake of 57.6%. Philly Shipyard primarily builds Jones Act-compliant merchant vessels, with more than 50 percent of Jones Act-compliant merchant vessels built and delivered by the shipyard since 2003. Its core business also includes the construction and operation and maintenance of naval and business vessels.
Under the agreement, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will provide design and material package services for ships and business vessels to Philly Shipyard, which is pushing ahead with the expansion of its U.S. naval business.
Since 2005, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Philly Shipyard have been working together in the field of merchant vessels, supplying drawings and materials to the Us-Based shipyard. The partnership will now extend to ships and business vessels ordered by the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Federal Shipping Administration.
Joo Won-ho, CEO of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Specialty Ship Business, said, “We hope to further increase HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ presence in the global defense market through cooperation with Philly Shipyard in shipbuilding and MRO business.”
Recently, HD Hyundai has entered into strategic partnerships with U.S. defense companies GE Aerospace and L3 Harris to co-develop ship propulsion systems and perform MRO on U.S. Navy ships.In addition, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries recently formalized a joint construction contract with Peru’s state-owned SIMA Shipyard to build four naval ships.