HJ Shipbuilding & Construction said on the 13th that U.S. Navy officials visited the Yeongdo shipyard in Busan the previous day and requested additional maintenance work for the 40,000-ton logistics support ship "USNS Amelia Earhart," for which the company has been handling maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO).
HJ Shipbuilding & Construction won the MRO project for the Earhart, assigned to the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, in December last year and began full-scale maintenance work on the 12th of last month.
HJ Shipbuilding & Construction said that during maintenance it identified new needs not included in the initial contract or beyond the original scope of work, obtained approval from the U.S. Navy, and is proceeding with additional tasks.
It said it is reflecting in the MRO work any functional defects or flaws in the vessel that the client had not detected.
Six officials, including Jim Goodhart, deputy director of the Ship Management Directorate at the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, and a Navy inspector, who visited the Yeongdo shipyard that day, closely examined the MRO progress and equipment at HJ Shipbuilding & Construction's Busan Yeongdo shipyard and were said to have highly praised its maintenance technology.
Chief Executive Yoo Sang-cheol of HJ Shipbuilding & Construction said, "Because this is our first MRO project, we are putting every effort into process and quality control to meet the U.S. Navy's high maintenance, repair and overhaul requirements and quality," adding, "We will focus all of the company's capabilities on meeting deadlines and delivering high-quality vessels so this project can serve as a foundation for building trust with the U.S. Navy."