The Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC), set to serve as a forward base for shipbuilding cooperation between Korea and the United States, has opened, pushing the MASGA project into full swing. In this situation, expectations are growing for full-fledged participation in future U.S. military shipbuilding programs as Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc., recently acquired by Hanwha Group, won a contract to build a maritime missile range instrumentation vessel (MRIV) needed for the United States' missile defense system.
Earlier, in April, Philly Shipyard won the conceptual design contract for the next-generation logistics ship (NGLS) that the U.S. Navy is pursuing, prompting assessments that cooperation for military purposes is gradually deepening.
In the shipbuilding and defense industries, some say Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc. needs to improve production infrastructure and train local talent to boost productivity in order to win orders to build combat-capable vessels for the U.S. military.
According to the shipbuilding and defense industries on the 26th, Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc., together with U.S. vessel construction manager (VCM) TOTE Services, was recently selected by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency as the MRIV builder. Philly Shipyard will handle ship design and construction, and TOTE Services will manage delivery schedules and expense controls. Delivery is targeted to begin in 2030.
Local assessments that productivity in building National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV) improved after Hanwha Group acquired Philly Shipyard in June 2024 are said to have positively influenced this MRIV award. In 2019, the U.S. Maritime Administration announced a project to build five NSMVs and selected TOTE Services as the VCM for the project. With discretion to choose the yard at the time, TOTE Services entrusted construction to Philly Shipyard.
Philly Shipyard has completed delivery of three NSMVs and plans to deliver the remaining ships sequentially this year and next year. For NSMV No. 3, construction began in July 2022 and should have been completed in the first half of 2024 before Hanwha Group's acquisition. However, the construction progress rate was only 81% at the time of acquisition. After the acquisition, defects were found in existing processes, requiring rework, and delivery was made only in March this year.
At the naming ceremony for NSMV No. 4 on the 17th, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, "Since Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc. launched, it is an astounding achievement that NSMVs are being delivered on schedule and within budget."
Hanwha has dispatched about 70 people from Korea since acquiring Philly Shipyard and improved processes by replacing aging equipment. Um Kyung-a, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities, said, "The U.S. government also acknowledges that shipbuilding has sped up and quality has improved since Hanwha acquired the yard."
Although Philly Shipyard achieved its first U.S. ship order since the launch of the MASGA project for Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation, some analysts say there are many tasks ahead to participate in building warship-level vessels.
Philly Shipyard has yet to obtain the necessary qualifications for warship construction. To participate in U.S. warship construction and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) programs, it must obtain a Facility Clearance (FCL) from the U.S. Department of defense for handling classified military information.
Kwon Hyo-jae, a researcher at the Institute of Marine Systems Engineering at Seoul National University, said, "For Philly Shipyard to build warships, obtaining the license is urgent," adding, "At the same time, related technical personnel and capabilities must be expanded."
Philly Shipyard is pushing to expand production facilities, modernize equipment, and rebuild supply chains to improve productivity. The yard has two dry docks (construction spaces), but only one is actually used for shipbuilding.
Hanwha Group said it is "reviewing the purchase of land near Philly Shipyard or additional yard acquisitions to secure another dock."
Philly Shipyard is also steadily adding local shipbuilding workers. Its production workforce has increased from about 1,500 at the time of acquisition to around 2,000 now.
At the opening ceremony of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center on the 23rd (local time), Hanwha signed an MOU on "shipbuilding technology education and development cooperation" with Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc. and Delaware County Community College, agreeing to cooperate in training skilled workers in shipbuilding.
Currently, Hanwha is training personnel through a "training academy" within the yard. About 100 apprentices were hired by the academy last year.