Korea’s HJ Shipyard to Buy Yard from HD Hyundai to Target US Navy Work
South Korea’s HJ Heavy Industries is set to increase its capacities dramatically with the acquisition of a large yard from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. According to reports in the Korean media, one of the strategies is to expand the company’s maintenance and repair work with the U.S. Navy.
The largest shareholder of HJ, Ecoprime Marine Pacific, which in turn is part of Dongbu Engineering & Construction, entered into an agreement with HD Hyundai that calls for the acquisition of the shipyard in Gunsan. The companies have agreed to due diligence and then will obtain a valuation before negotiating the final sale price for the yard.
The shipyard in Gusan will expand the size and number of vessels HJ Heavy Industries can build and service, beyond its current yard in Yeongdo. Gunsan, which was opened in 2010 by Hyundai, has an approximately 700-meter (approximately 2,300-foot) dock and was designed to build 10 to 12 ships a year.
After establishing the yard, the shipbuilding industry experienced a dramatic decline, and in 2017, Hyundai suspended work at the yard. It resumed operations in 2022, using Gunsan to build blocks that were assembled at its Ulsan shipyard. According to the reports, Hyundai has agreed to continue to place orders for blocks at the yard after the acquisition and provide technical support to HJ Heavy Industries.
HJ Heavy Industries is a success story as it took over the former Hanjin Heavy Industries shipbuilding operations, which had fallen into financial distress in the 2010s, in part due to its expansion into the Philippines. The operation had been placed under the management of the Korea Development Bank in 2021 and sold in 2022 to Dongbu Engineering & Construction.
Considered a mid-size shipbuilder, the new management honed the management of the company and focused its operations. In 2024, it posted its first profits in 11 years. It was strongly profitable in 2025.
HJ Heavy Industries was the first mid-sized Korean yard to be certified by the U.S. Navy and the third yard overall in South Korea to be certified. In December 2025, it received the maintenance and repair assignment of the USNS Amelia Earhart, a Navy supply ship. The vessel arrived at the yard in Yeongdo in January and is due to be handed back to the U.S. Military Sealift Command in March.
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It won the first contract as it was also finishing the certification process with the U.S. Navy. It completed a Master Ship Repair Agreement with the U.S. Navy Supply Systems Command in December. Reaching that step, the company expanded its qualification for repair work on supply ships and other non-combatants to also include certification to perform work on destroyers, frigates, and other warships.
HJ Heavy Industries points to the strong opportunities as the U.S. Navy looks to expand its repair capabilities and keep more ships in the regions where they are deployed for repairs, as opposed to bringing ships back to the United States. The yard points to the expansion of the “K-defense” industry. It will also be able to use the acquired yard to expand its commercial shipbuilding capabilities, both in terms of capacity and the size of ship.