Seoul: The United States has reached out to leading South Korean shipbuilders to inquire about their capabilities in constructing naval vessels, including destroyers and fleet replenishment ships, as shared by industry sources.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Navy recently issued requests for information (RFIs) to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Hanwha Ocean Co. These companies provided details on their destroyer design capabilities and shipbuilding capacity last month, as confirmed by sources familiar with the situation. Additionally, for a separate RFI concerning medium-sized naval tankers, both companies, along with Samsung Heavy Industries Co., submitted their responses.
An industry official, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, "We responded to the U.S. RFIs by providing a comprehensive overview of the shipyards' capabilities, including their shipbuilding track record, design workforce and expertise, and annual shipbuilding capacity." This RFI process, as outlined under the U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulation, is used by the government to gather pricing, delivery terms, and other market information for planning purposes.
The requests follow a conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Lee Jae Myung during the Group of Seven (G7) summit last month. President Trump inquired if South Korean shipbuilders could promptly construct 10 U.S. Navy vessels, to which President Lee affirmed their capability and commitment. This development has fueled expectations that Seoul and Washington may expedite their shipbuilding partnership under the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" (MASGA) initiative, introduced during the Lee-Trump summit in October last year.
Under this agreement, South Korea pledged $150 billion of its $350 billion U.S. investment package to support naval and commercial shipbuilding projects, along with related supply chains. As a result, South Korean shipbuilders have intensified their efforts to penetrate the U.S. naval shipbuilding market, which is highly regulated under the Jones Act and other policies.
Hanwha Ocean is actively pursuing the necessary licenses to construct U.S. Navy destroyers following its acquisition of the Philadelphia Shipyard in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, HD Hyundai has partnered with Huntington Ingalls Industries, and Samsung Heavy Industries has collaborated with General Dynamics NASSCO.