HD Hyundai has secured its first role in US naval vessel construction through a partnership with Huntington Ingalls Industries, marking a notable shift for a market that has historically excluded foreign builders.
The Korean conglomerate signed an agreement Sunday with America’s largest defense shipbuilder to jointly design and bid on the Navy’s next-generation logistics support ships. The deal, announced during the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju, positions HD Hyundai to supply modular hull blocks and components from its Korean facilities to HII’s Newport News and Mississippi shipyards.
Actual assembly must remain on US soil due to the Burns-Tollefson Act, which prohibits foreign construction of American naval vessels. The companies plan to establish a joint engineering venture and explore acquiring or building additional US shipyard capacity.
The partnership stems from South Korea’s $150 billion “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” initiative, which Seoul leveraged during tariff negotiations earlier this year to reduce US import duties to 15%. HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, who took the helm in mid-October, characterized the arrangement as aligning with Washington’s maritime rebuilding efforts.
While HD Hyundai has delivered replenishment ships to New Zealand and the Korean Navy, its track record with US military specifications remains untested. The companies must now navigate complex procurement requirements and demonstrate they can meet Navy delivery schedules that have challenged domestic builders.
