U.S. Navy Expands Maintenance and Repair Work with South Korea’s Shipyards
The U.S. Navy is continuing to expand its maintenance, repair, and overhaul assignments with South Korea’s shipyards as part of a strategy to maintain ships when possible closer to their areas of deployment. Korea broke into the MRO segment in 2024 and has now completed a series of contracts while expecting more work from the United States.
South Korea’s largest shipbuilding group, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, is marking two milestones in the MRO business for the United States. The yard was the first to be certified to bid on the contracts, but had delayed seeking the work due to yard capacity issues. It won its first assignment in August 2025 and now reports that it has received another contract.
The repair work is expected to be a lucrative addition to the yards and one of the elements in the programs to support the United States and Korea’s Make American Shipbuilding Great Again initiative. Earlier reports estimated the value of the U.S. MRO business at more than $14.5 billion. The yards also emphasize that they will be able to leverage the expertise and track record with U.S. projects to attract other international assignments.
HD Hyundai reports it recently won an MRO contract for the USNS Cesar Chavez, a 41,000-ton Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship used for at-sea replenishment of U.S. warships. It is currently assigned to the U.S. 7th Fleet.
Cesar Chavez is scheduled to arrive at the shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, in the coming days. Work is scheduled to begin on January 19, and it is anticipated that the ship will be redelivered in March. The shipyard reports it will perform maintenance on approximately 100 items, including the hull, structure, propulsion, electrical, and auxiliary systems.
The arrival of the ship comes shortly after the redelivery and departure of her sister ship, USNS Alan Shepard, which had been at the HD Hyundai shipyard since late September. The yard reports the initial contract was for approximately 60 maintenance tasks. However, during the course of the work, over 100 additional items were identified, extending the maintenance period and significantly increasing the contract amount. Work was completed at the end of the year, and the vessel departed Uslan on January 6.
HD Hyundai reports it plans to further strengthen its MRO business, including with the integration of HD Hyundai Mipo after the merger of the two divisions. It looks to increase its competitiveness and expand the repair business.
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Hanwha Ocean was the first to receive assignments, and it has completed several MRO contracts. Recently, it was reported that HJ Shipbuilding & Construction has also completed its final review and inspection by the U.S. Navy. The company reports it expects to sign its Master Ship repair Agreement with the U.S. within the month. It had reportedly already won an assignment for the vessel USNS Amelia Earhart, but the ship remains in Japan and is possibly being sent to support operations off Venezuela.
Reports in the Korean media said that both HJ Shipbuilding’s Yeongdo shipyard and SK Oceanplant have recently completed their inspections by the U.S. Navy. The mid-sized yards look to also begin bidding on the MRO contracts from the U.S. Navy.