Page 38: of Marine News Magazine (January 2026)

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Feature

U.S. Shipbuilding Deals

HII

Hyundai and HII

MOU signing ceremony.

ed step of converting an Edison Chouest-owned oil service The 2025 version of the SHIPS Act will continue to twist vessel (albeit built for work in Arctic waters), into an ice- and turn on its course through Capitol Hill committees. At breaker at Tampa Ship, and then at an old Halter yard (re- a late October hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on named Mississippi Shipbuilding) in Pascagoula. The DP2 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which is consid- vessel, renamed USCG STORIS, is to be based in Alaska ering S 1541, Dr. Sal Mercogliano, a well-known industry after transit up to Juneau in Summer, 2025. expert and maritime historian with a 21st century social me-

As LNG has emerged an alternative fuel for cruise and, dia presence, told Committee members, “As an active par- increasingly, deep sea cargo vessels serving U.S. ports, LNG ticipant and observer in the U.S. maritime industry, I have bunkering barges have also been the subject of cooperation witnessed its long decline. The SHIPS Act is the most sig- between yards in the States and foreign entities. In early ni? cant maritime reform act since the Merchant Marine Act

December, 2025, Conrad Shipyard (which delivered the of 1970 … This legislation represents a critical step towards ? rst U.S. LNG bunkering barge, the 2,200-cu.-m. CLEAN transforming the industry from a purely naval power into a

JACKSONVILLE, in 2018) announced that it had signed true maritime power with a revitalized commercial sector.” an MOU with Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), the third member of South Korea’s “Big Three” shipbuilding triumvi-

CLEAN EVERGLADES rate that: “…formalizes a collaborative framework to jointly explore opportunities in the rapidly expanding U.S. LNG bunkering market.” According to a jointly-issued release, “Under the MOU, Conrad and SHI will work together to evaluate and pursue technical, commercial, and market- based initiatives that support the design, construction, and deployment of LNG bunkering vessels tailored for U.S. regulatory and operational requirements. The MOU is in- tended to combine SHI’s global expertise in advanced LNG technologies with Conrad’s proven LNG shipbuilding capa- bilities and domestic market access.”

Barry Parker 38 | MN January 2026