The on-site hub of the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project to rebuild the U.S. shipbuilding industry, the "Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center," has been launched. Korea and the United States plan to accelerate shipbuilding cooperation worth $150 billion by strengthening collaboration in four areas, including shipbuilding workforce development and supply chain reinforcement.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said on the 23rd (local time) that it held an opening ceremony for the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC; Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center) in Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Department of Commerce. This follows the memorandum of understanding for the "Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Initiative" signed in May.
Going forward, the cooperation center will operate as a local platform supporting productivity consulting for U.S. shipyards, workforce development projects, research and development and technology exchanges, and inter-corporate investment cooperation. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) plans to systematically support U.S. investments by domestic shipbuilding corporations and bilateral collaboration in ship construction in cooperation with the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corporation and policy finance institutions.
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At the opening ceremony, the two sides also signed a total of 15 MOUs across four areas: ▲ building "Team Korea" for mutual growth of the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding industry ▲ supply chain cooperation ▲ workforce development ▲ joint technology development.
In the supply chain area, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering will support productivity assessments and the application of automation technologies to modernize U.S. shipyards, and will also cooperate with Siemens in the United States to build next-generation design and production digital solutions. Hanwha Ocean will work with the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce to expand participation by local corporations in the shipbuilding supply chain.
In workforce development, Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc. will establish a program linking shipbuilding technology education with on-site training with Delaware County Community College (DCCC), and Samsung Heavy Industries will pursue the establishment of a workforce development center equipped with a welding training system based on Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) with Vigor Marine Group in the United States.
The two countries will also undertake joint research and development in shipbuilding. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) will carry out eight projects, including ship design optimization, autonomous welding, painting automation, and autonomous navigation, through a Korea-U.S. joint research and development program totaling 120 billion won over five years. In addition, joint research among shipbuilding companies of both countries will proceed.
Kim Jung-kwan, Minister of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), said in a welcome address, "KUSPC will become a base that, with support from the Korean government, helps Korea's outstanding shipbuilding technologies take root across the U.S. coastal belt," adding, "Investments in shipbuilding cooperation reaching $150 billion will also move forward quickly."