South Korean shipyards are steadily becoming an integral part of US Navy maintenance work. Following in the footsteps of some of the nation’s shipbuilding giants, another local shipbuilder just secured a new contract.
HJ Shipbuilding and Construction announced on Monday that it won a deal to service a US Navy vessel — the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Amelia Earhart — as Washington increasingly turns to South Korea’s impressive commercial shipbuilding sector to support strained American yards and keep the fleet afloat.
The maintenance contract is with the Navy’s Naval Supply System Command and Military Sealift Command.
The work on the Amelia Earhart — which will include an inspection of the ship’s hull and systems, follow-up repairs and replacements, and a paint job — will begin in January 2026 at the Yeongdo Shipyard in Busan. The vessel will be delivered to the Navy by the end of March.
The Amelia Earhart is one of the Navy’s supply ships that refuels and resupplies aircraft carriers and warships at sea. Its overhaul adds to a growing list of US Navy work going to South Korean companies.
Major South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean finished repairs on the USNS Wally Schirra, another Lewis and Clark-class vessel, in March, marking a first for a South Korean shipyard. And then HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, one of the country’s largest shipbuilders, received a maintenance contract for another ship in the class, the USNS Alan Shepard.
HJ Shipbuilding and Construction said it’s the first midsize shipbuilder in South Korea to win a maintenance contract with the US Navy.
While smaller voyage repairs to US Navy ships occur regularly at allied yards, the continued contract wins for South Korean shipyards highlight the growing shipbuilding collaboration between Washington and Seoul.
That partnership, which has included business deals for South Korean companies abroad as well as investments in American yards, is part of a broader willingness by the Trump administration to rely on its Pacific ally amid efforts to fix US shipbuilding issues.
Billions of dollars are being put into modernizing US shipyards and addressing workforce and training issues as South Korea’s government calls its investments a plan to “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again.” The US is also turning to Japan, another large shipbuilder, for assistance.
South Korea and Japan are the second and third largest shipbuilders in the world, respectively, and Navy leadership is increasingly recognizing their value in this sector. China, however, dominates the shipbuilding industry, relying heavily on its dual-use yards, workforce, and equipment to make military and commercial vessels at a rapid pace.
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