Hanwha Ocean widens US naval shipyard ties in McCormick tour

Hanwha Ocean announced Oct. 8 that US Senator Dave McCormick toured its Geoje shipyard to integrate South Korean naval manufacturing with American defense supply chains. The lawmaker reviewed dry dock operations on Oct. 7.

The tour connects Geoje with Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania. McCormick backed Hanwha Group's $5 billion investment plan for the Philadelphia yard in August 2025 to expand dry dock facilities and shipyard automation.

McCormick boarded the Pyeongtaek, the fifth vessel in South Korea's Ulsan-class Batch-III frigate program. The guided-missile warship displaces 3,600 tons and incorporates a domestic four-sided phased-array radar system for air defense.

The delegation inspected automated steel-cutting workshops and surface ship construction docks. Hanwha Ocean operates automated welding gantries and indoor block assembly lines at Geoje to maintain naval vessel production schedules.

Jeong In-seop, executive vice president for management support at Hanwha Ocean, led the site briefing. Jeong outlined methods to coordinate engineering blueprints between Geoje and the Philadelphia yard.

Hanwha Ocean coordinates vocational training programs with Delaware County Community College in Pennsylvania. The partnership trains shipyard workers in advanced hull welding, electrical outfitting and naval machinery installation.

The shipbuilder also works with naval architecture firm Leidos Gibbs & Cox in Arlington, Virginia. The companies collaborate on design packages for auxiliary sealift ships to support military logistics operations.

Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Ocean acquired Philly Shipyard for $100 million in late 2024. The acquisition gave the South Korean conglomerate its first commercial and defense shipbuilding yard in the United States.

Philly Shipyard delivered four National Security Multi-mission Vessels for American state maritime academies through September 2026. The yard builds specialized training ships equipped with modern diesel-electric propulsion systems.

The Philadelphia yard won a construction contract in July from the Maritime Administration. The project covers a dedicated Missile Range Instrumentation Vessel designed to support missile defense tracking trials at sea.

The US Navy faces severe maintenance backlogs across its four public shipyards. Dry dock shortages and labor deficits routinely delay scheduled overhaul cycles for surface combatants and fleet logistics vessels.

Hanwha Ocean secured a Master Ship Repair Agreement certification from the US Navy in July 2024. The qualification allows the Geoje yard to tender for depot-level repairs on forward-deployed American naval vessels.

The company overhauled USNS Wally Schirra, a 40,000-ton dry cargo and ammunition ship, in late 2024. The maintenance contract made Hanwha Ocean the first South Korean yard to complete American naval repair work.

Hanwha Ocean demonstrated disciplined quality management and production speed across its construction bays, McCormick said. The lawmaker said he expects the Korean group to expand commercial shipbuilding capacity in Philadelphia.

McCormick traveled to Seoul on Oct. 8 for meetings with South Korean cabinet officials. Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul urged the US Congress to support bilateral shipyard partnerships during morning talks in Seoul.

The bilateral alliance must expand beyond troop deployments into industrial technology and defense manufacturing, Kang said. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met McCormick separately on Oct. 8 to review maritime security cooperation.

Pentagon officials visited South Korean yards for three consecutive months heading into October. Senior naval shipbuilding adviser Richard Breckenridge and East Asia defense official George Lemore conducted on-site facility inspections.

American defense planners review foreign ship designs to expand surface fleet numbers. South Korea's Chungnam-class frigate and Japan's Mogami-class frigate represent leading options under consideration for allied co-production concepts.

Federal statutes bar foreign shipyards from building combatant hulls for the US Navy. Hanwha Ocean intends to channel modular designs and production techniques through its Philadelphia yard to satisfy American procurement laws.

The Geoje yard supplies digital twin models and supply chain networks to American facilities. Korean suppliers provide marine propulsion pumps, structural valves and piping skids for assembly at the Philadelphia yard.

Hanwha Ocean did not disclose contract values or new binding vessel maintenance agreements from the visit. The company confirmed that discussions focused on workforce development and yard coordination.

Bilateral defense procurement working groups will convene in Washington in November to review shipyard access rules. Philly Shipyard is scheduled to deliver its fifth National Security Multi-mission Vessel in 2027.