Samsung Heavy Industries is embarking on extensive collaboration with the U.S. shipbuilding industry, leveraging its advanced shipbuilding technology and operational expertise.
On July 23, during the opening ceremony of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation Center (KUSPC) held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., Samsung Heavy Industries announced the signing of agreements related to U.S. business operations and joint research.
The KUSPC was established under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to support joint research between Korean and American shipbuilders and facilitate communication between governments and businesses. The ceremony was attended by key officials, including Kim Jeong-kwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, along with Samsung Heavy Industries' Vice Chairman Choi Sung-an, Vice President Kim Kyung-hee, and representatives from Korea's top three shipbuilders.
Samsung Heavy Industries has actively pursued initiatives to strengthen its business collaboration in the U.S. On the same day, Samsung Heavy Industries and Conrad Shipyard received Approval in Principle (AiP) from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for the basic design of a 12,000 cubic meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel they are jointly developing.
This achievement follows the establishment of a cooperative relationship for the joint construction of LNG bunkering vessels in December of last year, where both companies collaborated on the design of vessels to be built in the U.S.
Additionally, Samsung Heavy Industries signed a strategic business cooperation agreement with Saronic Technologies, a startup specializing in the design and manufacturing of unmanned surface vehicles. The partnership will focus on researching autonomous navigation and artificial intelligence (AI) digital solutions for unmanned surface vehicles, as well as collaborating on the establishment of production infrastructure based on robotics-driven process automation.
Furthermore, Samsung Heavy Industries is expanding its collaboration with U.S. MRO partner Vigor Marine Group. The two companies have signed an agreement to establish a training center in the Pacific Northwest, where Samsung Heavy Industries plans to actively share its advanced technology and expertise.
Choi Sung-an, Vice Chairman of Samsung Heavy Industries, stated, "The shipbuilding cooperation project with the U.S. that we have been preparing for will mark a new milestone with today's opening ceremony. We will do our utmost to usher in a renaissance in the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding and marine industry based on our technological capabilities."
This collaboration is part of Samsung Heavy Industries' ongoing efforts to penetrate the U.S. shipbuilding market. In April, the company participated in a concept design project for the next-generation logistics support vessel (NGLS) with General Dynamics NASSCO, further broadening its cooperation in the U.S. naval sector.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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