Pentagon Inspects Hanwha Ocean Docks for US Frigate Programs

A senior Pentagon official inspected Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard on Sept. 16, defense officials said Sept. 17, reviewing South Korean naval production lines for upcoming warship acquisitions.

The review follows an Aug. 13 White House memorandum allowing qualified foreign shipbuilders with domestic facilities to construct up to two initial warship hulls abroad.

Hanwha Ocean, which acquired Philadelphia-based Philly Shipyard for $100 million in 2024, operates specialized berths capable of building 3,600-ton guided-missile frigates in Geoje.

George Lemur, United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, toured the yard while attending bilateral security talks, industry officials said Sept. 17.

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense formally designated naval shipbuilding cooperation as a primary agenda item for the 29th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue on Sept. 14.

During the shipyard tour, the American delegation examined production berths for the fifth and sixth vessels of the Chungnam-class frigate program, known as Ulsan-class Batch-III.

The 3,600-ton Chungnam-class warships incorporate four-sided active electronically scanned array radar systems and indigenous combat management suites designed for anti-air and anti-submarine warfare.

The United States Navy faces chronic dock shortages and maintenance backlogs across public shipyards, prompting American planners to evaluate allied surface combatant designs for rapid procurement.

American naval authorities are currently assessing both South Korea’s Chungnam-class and Japan’s Mogami-class frigates as potential candidates to replenish surface escort inventories.

Neither the Pentagon nor Hanwha Ocean has published a formal readout detailing the specific inspection findings or contractual terms discussed at Geoje.

The Geoje visit follows an on-site technical inspection conducted by the Pentagon’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office on May 13.

Hanwha Ocean secured its first Master Ship Repair Agreement with the United States Navy on Aug. 29, 2024, becoming South Korea’s first certified military naval maintainer.

The company completed a scheduled overhaul of the 40,000-ton dry cargo ship USNS Wally Schirra in Geoje, redelivering the logistics vessel in March 2025.

Under current statutory rules, foreign shipyards cannot assemble finished warships for the United States Navy without presidential exemptions or secondary domestic assembly hubs.

Defense analysts expect Hanwha Ocean to build specialized structural blocks in Geoje before transporting them to Hanwha Philly Shipyard for final outfitting and integration.

Hanwha Group pledged a $5 billion modernization package for the Philadelphia facility, aiming to add two dry docks and three quayside berths.

Hanwha Philly Shipyard must still secure a formal Facility Security Clearance from the United States Department of Defense before handling classified military hull systems.

Domestic competitor HD Hyundai Heavy Industries holds an identical ship repair credential from the American military, maintaining dedicated naval docks in nearby Ulsan.

The bilateral shipbuilding partnership seeks to offset China’s naval expansion, which has deployed commercial slipways to produce warships at three times the American rate.

The 29th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue concludes Sept. 18 in Busan, formalizing bilateral procurement recommendations for the annual Security Consultative Meeting in November.

The South Korean defense ministry confirmed that both governments will finalize bilateral working group assignments on naval industrial cooperation before the year ends.