The main agreement moves Hanwha Ocean’s partnership with Leidos into active design work on the Global Fast Sealift vessel. The platform is intended to support commercial shipping in peacetime and rapid military sealift during wartime.
Hanwha Ocean and Leidos will begin joint design work under a Professional Services Agreement. They also plan to pursue technology development and establish a framework for design quality throughout the programme.
The agreement builds on an April memorandum between the two companies. That earlier arrangement covered next-generation naval ship design, U.S. shipbuilding capacity and opportunities in global defence markets.
Hanwha Ocean will contribute its naval shipbuilding capabilities to the programme. Leidos will provide ship design and engineering expertise through its wider organisation, including Gibbs & Cox.
Hanwha Ocean said Gibbs & Cox has designed more than 70% of U.S. Navy surface combatants since the Second World War. The companies aim to combine that design experience with Hanwha Ocean’s shipbuilding capabilities for U.S. and international markets.
The Global Fast Sealift concept is designed as a dual-use platform. Hanwha Ocean said the ship could provide both commercial value and military transport capacity.
Hanwha Ocean is also expanding cooperation on the U.S. shipbuilding workforce. The company signed a memorandum with Hanwha Philly Shipyard and Delaware County Community College covering shipbuilding technology training and development.
The parties plan to support instructor training and other workforce programmes. The goal is to help develop skilled workers for the U.S. shipbuilding industry.
Delaware County Community College already provides technical instruction for four U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship programmes at Hanwha Philly Shipyard. The education complements on-the-job training at the shipyard.
A separate memorandum focuses on the regional shipbuilding supply chain around Philadelphia. Hanwha Ocean, Hanwha Philly Shipyard, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Philadelphia Growth Partnership will work to identify local suppliers.
The supply-chain effort is intended to support higher production capacity at Hanwha Philly Shipyard. It also expands Hanwha Ocean’s U.S. strategy beyond ship construction into suppliers and workforce development.
“Hanwha Ocean is fully prepared to contribute to the revitalization of the U.S. shipbuilding industry and the continued advancement of Korea’s shipbuilding sector,” said Insub Jung, President and Head of Management Support Office at Hanwha Ocean. “Building on our local production footprint, we will expand cooperation in areas most critical to the U.S. and serve as a key driver of the MASGA Project.”
The agreements give Hanwha Ocean a broader role in U.S. shipbuilding cooperation. They link vessel design, skilled labour and local suppliers to the company’s effort to expand production capacity and support future military and commercial ship programmes.
