South Korea to launch consultative body to support US shipbuilding project

Seoul, Aug 14 (IANS) The South Korean government will launch a consultative body of relevant ministries to support the shipbuilding cooperation initiative with the United States, the industry minister said on Thursday, noting the project will create new opportunities for the Korean shipbuilding industry.

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan unveiled the plan during the naming ceremony of two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to be delivered to the U.S. by Korean shipbuilding giant Hanwha Ocean Co., held at the company's shipyard in Geoje, about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

"The government will swiftly form a consultative body comprising relevant agencies to support the Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA) project, while closely communicating with the U.S. side to create tangible results," he said, reports Yonhap news agency.

MASGA refers to South Korea's proposal for bilateral shipbuilding cooperation with the U.S. made during its tariff negotiations with the Donald Trump administration.

Late last month, the Seoul government struck a trade deal with the Trump administration by pledging to invest US$150 billion in the MASGA project and another $200 billion for bilateral cooperation in strategic industries, such as semiconductors, batteries and biotech.

"MASGA is a win-win project that supports the revitalization of the U.S. shipbuilding industry by facilitating investment in American shipyards, while helping them nurture a skilled workforce and rebuild supply chains," Kim added, according to the industry ministry. "The project will also create new opportunities for our companies to enter new markets."

The ministry said Hanwha Ocean's recently constructed LNG carriers are the first two out of five vessels to be delivered to the U.S. for the latter's LNG exports. Hanwha won the order, worth $1.2 billion, in 2022.

The deal reaffirms the top-tier competitiveness of Korean shipbuilders in the high-value LNG carrier market, the ministry said, noting that more than 70 percent of 760 LNG carriers currently operating worldwide have been built by Korean shipbuilders.

Notably, in the first half of this year, Korean companies secured 100 percent of global LNG carrier orders, the ministry highlighted.

Following the naming ceremony, the industry minister also met with Hanwha Ocean officials and the crew members of U.S. Navy vessel Charles Drew at the Geoje shipyard.

Hanwha Ocean is currently providing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for Charles Drew, which is the third U.S. naval vessel to undergo MRO at the Hanwha shipyard.

"The U.S. naval vessel MRO project represents the starting point of Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation, and just like the previous two MRO projects, we hope Charles Drew will be reborn as a new ship through the advanced capabilities of Korean shipbuilding," Kim said.

In August last year, Hanwha secured an MRO contract for the U.S. Navy's logistics support ship Wally Schirra, marking the first such deal for a Korean shipbuilder. In November, it also won an MRO deal for the replenishment oiler Yukon.

Meanwhile, during his visit to Geoje shipyard, Kim said the government plans to announce measures to support the restructuring efforts of the ailing petrochemical industry later this month, adding the petrochemical industry can overcome the crisis like the shipbuilding sector did in the late 2010s.