Page 74: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2026)

The Final Word: Shipbuilding n July 23rd, 2026 Amtech, of the Navy provided MarAd, legis- lion was set aside to open and fund the courtesy an invitation from lative and Naval interest throughout KUSPC Washington o? ces.

the U.S. Department of the event. Speakers included South Fifteen MOU’s were executed and

O Commerce, attended the Korean/U.S. Ambassadors Michelle announced during the event. The top

Grand Opening of the Korea-U.S. Ship- Steel, Kyung-Wha Kang. Jung Kwan four describing a program with Sam- building Partnership Center (KUSPC) Kim Minister of Trade and Tae Kon sung & Saronic collaboration address- in Washington DC, a Secretary level Kim Director General of DAPA (South ing naval autonomous vessel operation, event with invitations provided to rec- Korea Defense Acquisition Program HD Korea Shipbuilding & O? shore En- ognized leaders in the U.S. commercial Administration) along with Senator gineering next generation marine part- and naval shipbuilding industry. Am- Todd Young and Marad’s Chief of Sta? nerships, Hanwha Ocean announcing tech has been working with Commerce Anthony Fisher. a professional services contract with from the initial release of the ? rst Ex- Commerce Secretary Howard Lut- Leidos Gibbs & Cox to jointly design ecutive Order issued to recover and de- nick addressed the event on his arrival. a fast sealift vessel. A dual-use ship to velop U.S. maritime dominance. And His takeaway statement con? rming the carry commercial cargo during peace- with that, we will take this opportunity administration will determine the suc- time and move military equipment in to thank our contacts at Commerce in cess of the program by delivered proj- a defense theater. A historical return to

Washington and Seoul for that support. ects rather than rhetoric and media an- the time of the MarAd Sealand SL7 fast

On arrival to the morning event, the nouncements. “We are going to judge sealift ships and LMSR program (now intent was clear. Red "MASGA" hats the KUSPC by the capital it deploys, in Ready Reserve Force layup) pre- with U.S. and South Korean ? ags side the facilities developed, the workers and post-Iraqi wars. The ? nal of the by side announcing “Make Ameri- you train, the supply chains you estab- four top MOUs addressing an agree- can Shipbuilding Great Again” were lish, and ultimately the simple number ment with HD Hyundai Samho to pro- at every seat position. A sweep of the of how many domestically produced vide port cranes for Washington United room indicated the majority of the at- ships we build together.” Terminals on the U.S. West Coast. In tendees were South Korean. A sub- A simple statement con? rming KUS- no uncertain terms, the number of “an- liminal thought for us as the attendee PC was not looking to talk the talk, nouncements” favored Hanwha, naval numbers and the U.S. minority de? ned rather walk the walk with commitment oriented vessels and infrastructure with the comparable size of U.S. commer- and results supporting U.S. manufac- a continued reference to their purchase cial shipbuilding versus South Korean turing, the supply chain and U.S ship- of the Philadelphia Shipyard. The re- capability. Amtech supports an o? ce in building. maining 11 MOUs described working

Ulsan, South Korea and has members With that commitment let’s look at platforms with several U.S. shipyard involved in South Korean Shipbuild- the “numbers” provided during the companies, defense technology groups, ing since 1982. With that experience event and illustrated by several projec- universities and research organizations it should be clear we are commercial tion screens and speakers de? ning the covering shipyard modernization, sup- ship construction managers and opera- program. KUSPC serves as the premier ply chain issues, workforce develop- tors. Our “MASGA” e? ort involving platform facilitating $150 billion in ment and joint technology programs.

Hyundai and the South Korean yards Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into The top four major announcements has been proposed in many of our re- the U.S. Maritime Industry. The core may have been the ticker-tape parade, cent projects from commercial AIP mission of that funding is to rebuild however, the smaller follow-on MOUs submarines, Console tankers, Hospital and modernize U.S. shipbuilding capa- addressed important detailed issues ships and support vessels. Our e? orts bilities through strategic alliances. The towards rebuilding competitive U.S. have not been combatant ships or Navy program also announced an $80 million- shipyards. Miller Electric Manufactur-

Registered vessels. dollar, ? ve-year e? ort covering areas of ing, a well-known source of welding

The KUSPC VIP attendees were an- new smart ship technologies with AI-as- expertise to those of us that live and nounced on their arrival and our apolo- sisted design, robotic welding, module- work in the U.S yards, introduced a gies as the list here is not complete. block transportation, and autonomous MASGA cooperation project with new

Maritime Administrator Steve Carmel, navigation. Further $5 billion dollar welding inspection technology. Dela-

Senators Kelly and Young represent- packages were announced for Hanwha ware County Community College was ing the Ships for America Act, and the to expand their Philly yard and Hyundai recognized as building shipyard labor honorable Huang Cao Acting Secretary to expand their U.S. e? orts. $13.5 mil- training cooperation with Hanwha 74 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • August 2026

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