The United States has recently reached out to major South Korean shipbuilders to gather information about their ability to support U.S. Navy warship construction, including destroyers and fleet replenishment ships, industry sources said on Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Defense and the Navy sent requests for information to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean. The two companies submitted details in late June, covering destroyer design capabilities and shipbuilding capacity. Industry sources also said the companies provided responses to a separate request for medium-sized naval tankers.
Under U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulation procedures, a request for information is used to collect market information—such as delivery terms and other planning data—before any procurement decisions are made.
An industry official said the companies’ submissions included comprehensive overviews of shipyard capabilities, including track records, design workforce and expertise, and annual shipbuilding capacity.
The new move follows comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump during last month’s Group of Seven summit. Trump asked South Korean President Lee Jae Myung whether South Korean shipbuilders could quickly build 10 U.S. Navy vessels. Lee replied that South Korean builders were capable and would make their best efforts.
The latest step is also expected to accelerate the shipbuilding partnership between Seoul and Washington under a U.S. initiative announced during the Lee–Trump summit, which includes South Korea committing $150 billion out of a broader $350 billion U.S. investment package toward naval and commercial shipbuilding and related supply chains.
South Korean companies have been working to expand their presence in the tightly regulated U.S. naval shipbuilding market, where foreign participation is constrained by regulations including the Jones Act. Hanwha Ocean has also been seeking necessary licenses to build U.S. Navy destroyers after acquiring the Philadelphia Shipyard in Pennsylvania, while HD Hyundai has partnered with Huntington Ingalls Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries has partnered with General Dynamics NASSCO.
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