en.Wedoany.com Reported - South Korea's HD Hyundai has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Kiewit Offshore Services Ltd. of the United States, planning to introduce Korean shipbuilding technology to manufacturing projects along the Gulf Coast, potentially involving the production of hull sections and modules for US vessel programs.
The agreement was signed on July 16 at Kiewit's headquarters in Ingleside, Texas, but specific vessel projects, contract values, or production timelines were not disclosed. The framework aims to integrate HD Hyundai's capabilities in ship design, procurement, and construction with Kiewit's expertise in large-scale manufacturing and project execution to explore opportunities of mutual interest.
Potential areas of collaboration include the fabrication of hull sections and modules, enabling Kiewit to support US shipbuilding programs using its Gulf Coast facilities. However, at this stage, the partnership is not positioned as a complete vessel construction arrangement.
HD Hyundai stated that the partnership aims to help expand US shipbuilding capacity and strengthen the maritime industrial base. The company has over 50 years of experience in building commercial vessels, offshore ships, and naval vessels in South Korea and abroad. Kiewit Offshore Services, a subsidiary of Kiewit Corp., has a long history of large-scale manufacturing, marine engineering, and complex project delivery from its Gulf Coast base. Both parties noted that the collaboration targets both commercial and government shipbuilding markets.
Hannae Choi, Executive Vice President and Head of the Corporate Planning Office at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, said: "The United States is a strong ally and key business partner for us. Through our collaboration with KOS, we intend to actively support the expansion of US shipbuilding and maritime infrastructure, while exploring other areas of cooperation, including opportunities involving floating assets." Choi signed the agreement alongside Chad Johnson, President of Kiewit Offshore Services.
Johnson stated that Kiewit has a long history of delivering the most complex industrial and marine projects in North America; by combining Kiewit's manufacturing and EPC project execution expertise with HD Hyundai's shipbuilding experience, they are creating new opportunities to support the growth of the US shipbuilding industry and help strengthen the nation's future maritime industrial base.
Both parties indicated that this partnership is intended to expand domestic US manufacturing capacity, enhance supply chain resilience, and support allied industrial cooperation at a time when US shipbuilding capacity is under pressure. The agreement comes as Washington pushes to rebuild the maritime industrial base, with the Trump administration's "Maritime Action Plan," released in February of this year, placing it at the core of the industrial and national security agenda.
