On December 22 (local time), Hanwha’s “Philly Shipyard” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, was visited. At Dock No. 4, which has a dry dock where ships are built with seawater drained, a large Goliath crane was constructing the No. 5 National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) and container ships.

This shipyard is reviewing mid- to long-term site expansion and additional investment using resources from the Korea–US shipbuilding cooperation project “MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again).” Plans include securing two additional docks and three additional berths, establishing a 120,000-pyeong block production base, and introducing automated facilities and a smart yard system.

Tom Anderson, Hanwha’s president, emphasized the role of Philly Shipyard as a practical alternative for enhancing the United States’ nuclear-powered submarine production capacity. He stated, “Philly Shipyard has important strengths in realizing the joint production of nuclear-powered submarines together with Korea, the United States’ strongest ally,” stressing that, in the case of Virginia-class submarines, construction can proceed based on already proven designs rather than starting completely anew from the design stage, thereby reducing cost, time, and effort.


Anderson, a retired US Navy rear admiral who previously served as the overall director of ship programs, currently oversees the strategic operation of Hanwha Philly Shipyard. This is the first time he has appeared before the media to concretize the shipyard’s potential for nuclear submarine production.

Hanwha Group acquired Philly Shipyard a year ago with an investment of USD 100 million (about KRW 145 billion). It plans to expand its current construction capacity of 1–1.5 vessels per year to up to 20 vessels per year in the mid to long term. Since its launch, Philly Shipyard has also focused on improving productivity through expansion of production space, workforce reinforcement, and strengthening of apprentice training systems. First, a 12,000㎡ non-production area within the shipyard was developed into an outdoor large-block fabrication space. By applying Hanwha Ocean’s large block construction method, the production capacity of this process was increased to about 200% of the previous level.

On the same day, US President Donald Trump announced plans to build a “golden fleet” consisting of large battleships and new frigates, mentioning Hanwha Philly Shipyard. He said, “The Navy will work with a Korean company. It is a good company called ‘Hanwha’ that recently agreed to invest USD 5 billion (about KRW 7.2 trillion) in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard,” adding, “We are reopening the Philadelphia shipyard, which was once a great shipyard.”

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