iscover
Two of the world’s largest shipbuilders, HII and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, have signed a memorandum of understanding to accelerate defence and commercial ship production.
Both companies signed the agreement at the Sea Air Space global maritime expo in North America, with attendance from HII executive vice president and president of Ingalls Shipbuilding, Brian Blanchette, and HHI naval & special ship business unit chief executive, Joo Won-ho.
The strategic partnership is expected to utilise their combined expertise and resources to advance technological innovation, maximise production efficiency, and strengthen the global defence industry.
“Today’s agreement reflects our commitment to explore all opportunities to expand US shipbuilding capacity in support of national security,” Blanchette said.
“By working with our shipbuilding allies and sharing best practices, we believe this MOU offers real potential to help accelerate delivery of quality ships.”
In addition, the memorandum of understanding is envisioned to increase the collective maritime industrial base strength of both the US and South Korea.
“This partnership marks a new milestone for both of our companies and provides us with the unique opportunity to expand our expertise in shipbuilding,” Won-ho said.
“We look forward to working with HII to explore new possibilities and deliver even greater value to our customers.”
The US government has previously outlined that its defence and commercial shipbuilding capacity is a current concern regarding the construction of new ships and the maintenance or repair of current vessels.
