Hanwha Ocean plans to invest an additional $70 million (about 94.5 billion won) in the Philadelphia shipyard, which it acquired last year. The investment aims to increase the annual dock productivity of the Philadelphia shipyard to around 10 vessels by 2035.
As the shipbuilding industry has emerged as a key card in the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations, this investment plan is interpreted as a move to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
According to the shipbuilding industry on the 24th, the U.S. White House recently disclosed global corporations' investment plans on its website, stating that Hanwha Ocean will invest $70 million in the expansion of the Philadelphia shipyard.
Hanwha Ocean acquired the Philadelphia shipyard by investing $100 million (about 140 billion won) last year. At the time of the acquisition, there were questions about the effectiveness of the acquisition. However, the atmosphere changed after President Donald Trump showed interest in cooperation in the shipbuilding sector with Korea.
Earlier, Hanwha Ocean announced it would raise the annual shipbuilding capacity of the Philadelphia shipyard from the current 1 to 1.5 vessels to more than 10 vessels by 2035. Consequently, the industry has speculated that Hanwha Ocean would proceed with additional investments in the shipyard to expand facilities such as dock enlargement.
If Hanwha Ocean raises its annual construction capacity to 10 vessels, it is expected to transform into a medium-sized shipyard with an annual revenue of $4 billion. The Philadelphia shipyard has emerged as a base capable of conducting maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) work for the U.S. Navy vessels based on Korea's shipbuilding technology.
As the Philadelphia shipyard has emerged as a symbol of the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project 'Make America Shipbuilding Great Again' (MASGA), the government is also expected to present it as a negotiation card to seek a breakthrough for tariff reduction. President Lee Jae-myung is scheduled to visit the Philadelphia shipyard on the 26th (local time).