HJ Shipbuilding & Construction announced on the 15th that it has signed a contract for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for a U.S. Navy vessel. Under the contract with the U.S. Naval Supply Systems Command and the Military Sealift Command, HJ Shipbuilding & Construction will carry out intermediate maintenance on the 40,000-ton class dry cargo and ammunition ship “USNS Amelia Earhart.”

Commissioned in 2008, the Amelia Earhart is a logistics support ship that supplies U.S. aircraft carriers and combat ships with 6,000 tons of cargo such as ammunition and food, and 2,400 tons of fuel. The vessel is 210 meters long and 32 meters wide. HJ Shipbuilding & Construction assessed that it is highly significant that the company has become the first among domestic mid-sized shipbuilders to participate in a U.S. Navy MRO project. MRO projects for U.S. Navy vessels are known to have high entry barriers and strong profitability, as they require stringent regulatory compliance and advanced technological capabilities.

With the Korea–U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project “MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again)” serving as a catalyst, defense industry cooperation among allied countries in the Indo-Pacific region has been expanding, raising expectations in the domestic defense industry. Based on its accumulated experience in the construction of special-purpose ships, HJ Shipbuilding & Construction has been preparing to enter overseas MRO markets since last year.

Starting in January next year, HJ Shipbuilding & Construction plans to begin full-scale maintenance work on the Amelia Earhart at its Yeongdo Shipyard in Busan, including hull and major system repairs and parts replacement, and to deliver the vessel to the U.S. Navy around the end of March next year.

Popular News