The partnership was announced at the launch of the Korea–U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center in Washington, D.C. The new organization is backed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Resources and is intended to deepen shipbuilding cooperation between the two countries.
The agreement covers autonomous vessels for government and commercial customers. It also includes work on artificial intelligence-powered digital systems, production infrastructure and robotics-based automation across Saronic’s shipyards.
Saronic brings experience in autonomous surface vessels and scalable manufacturing. Samsung Heavy Industries contributes decades of experience in vessel design, high-volume shipbuilding and production automation.
The companies said they will explore opportunities to accelerate development and production of next-generation maritime platforms. The partnership is also intended to expand the industrial capacity and workforce needed to support U.S. and allied shipbuilding requirements.
“Rebuilding America’s maritime strength requires both world-class technology and the industrial muscle to produce it at scale here at home,” said Dino Mavrookas, Co-Founder and CEO of Saronic. “We are proud to partner with SHI, bringing together Saronic’s maritime autonomy and next-generation manufacturing with Samsung’s storied shipbuilding and technology pedigree.”
“Together, we will focus on accelerating the reindustrialization of American shipbuilding, training the workforce of the future, and delivering differentiated, autonomy-capable vessels for both government and commercial applications,” Mavrookas said. The agreement links Saronic’s expansion plans in the United States with Samsung’s established industrial capabilities.
“We are pleased to establish this partnership with Saronic,” said Sung An Choi, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Heavy Industries. “By combining Saronic’s expertise in maritime autonomy with our expertise in shipbuilding, including production automation, we look forward to working together to create a more competitive future.”
The partnership comes as Saronic expands its U.S. shipbuilding footprint. The company recently announced plans to build Port Alpha, a multi-billion-dollar next-generation shipyard in Brownsville, Texas.
Saronic said the Texas project will create thousands of jobs in the region. The company is also investing an additional $300 million to increase capacity at its shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana.
The Samsung agreement will include collaboration on robotics-based process automation across Saronic’s production facilities. The companies said the work is intended to support faster and more scalable production of autonomy-capable maritime platforms.
The partnership also aligns with U.S. efforts to rebuild the domestic maritime workforce and strengthen the industrial base supporting shipbuilding. Saronic said the cooperation is intended to advance both manufacturing capacity and maritime technology for government and commercial markets.
For Saronic, the agreement adds the production experience of one of South Korea’s major shipbuilders to its growing U.S. manufacturing network. For Samsung Heavy Industries, it creates a partnership centred on maritime autonomy, artificial intelligence and next-generation vessel production in the United States.
