HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said on the 18th that it participated in the "2026 International Maritime and Safety Expo," held for three days from the 17th at Songdo Convensia in Incheon, unveiled its latest offshore patrol vessel (OPV), and shared its strategy for entering the Latin American market and plans to expand cooperation on warship technology.
The "International Maritime and Safety Expo" is a maritime exhibition held every two years under the auspices of the Korea Coast Guard. It brings together stakeholders from maritime, safety, aviation, ports, and logistics, as well as major corporations in the maritime industry.
At this exhibition, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries set up a joint booth with HJ Shipbuilding & Construction and Gangnam Shipbuilding, displaying a model of a 2,400-ton export-version offshore patrol vessel for the Philippine Navy and a 3,000-ton offshore patrol vessel recently delivered to the Korea Coast Guard.
The offshore patrol vessel is a ship that applies an artificial intelligence (AI)-based multi-mission platform and can carry out various missions, including territorial waters surveillance, search and rescue, and disaster relief.
That day, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering said it signed a "patrol vessel construction technology exchange and export cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU)" with the Korea Coast Guard to strengthen research and development capabilities for patrol vessels and expand export competitiveness of K-defense in the maritime domain. The two sides agreed to build a cooperation framework to advance patrol vessel technologies and strengthen export competitiveness by combining research and development (R&D) capabilities for ships with vessel operation technologies.
Meanwhile, on the previous day, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries held a "shipbuilding and maritime partnership seminar" with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) at Songdo Convensia in Incheon and presented its experience over the past two years in shipbuilding and maritime defense projects pursued in Peru and ways to enter the local supply chain.
Officials from the Peruvian Navy and the state-owned shipyard SIMA attended the seminar to discuss the Peruvian Navy's modernization plan and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' strategy for integrating into the warship supply chain.
Ju Won-ho, president of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, said, "HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has contributed to strengthening maritime safety in Korea based on its long-accumulated warship construction experience and advanced technological capabilities," adding, "We will continue to expand technological cooperation with the Korea Coast Guard and do our best to enhance competitiveness in the global shipbuilding and maritime defense market, including Latin America."