Hanwha Ocean Press Release
On February 27, Secretary of the U.S. Navy Carlos Del Toro visited Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje naval shipyards, where he was guided by CEO Kwon Hyuk-woong through the shipbuilding site, receiving explanations about the construction of South Korea’s latest KSS-III Batch-II submarines. Besides inspecting the special ship construction area, the Secretary also explored Hanwha Ocean’s extensive production facilities.
These include the Digital Production Center, which consists of the Smart Production Management Center—where the locations of blocks under construction can be monitored in real time using drones and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors—and the Smart Sea Trial Center, where the status of ships undergoing sea trials can be checked from land.
Secretary Carlos Del Toro’s visit was aimed to assess the military and commercial capabilities of domestic shipyards and to examine the possibilities for future U.S.-South Korea cooperation in naval projects, including the U.S. Navy’s MRO business.
Recently, the United States has been actively considering entrusting MRO tasks to allied countries with excellent ship technology and facilities due to the geographical and cost challenges associated with maintaining its naval forces. Secretary Carlos Del Toro has recently stated in official gatherings that they are exploring opportunities for U.S. Navy ship repairs throughout Asia.
Hanwha Ocean operates the first dedicated MRO organization in the domestic shipbuilding industry and is actively engaging in technical cooperation with foreign companies to provide a Total MRO Solution, including technology transfers and proximity support centers, both domestically and abroad, to enhance its competitiveness in naval shipbuilding.
Additionally, Hanwha Ocean has undertaken the overhaul of twenty-four KSS-I and KSS-II submarines, Product Improvement Program (PIP) of three KSS-I submarines and is currently working on the PIP for three Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyers (KDX-I).
Representative from Hanwha Ocean stated, “The Naval MRO business is as important as the new construction business in terms of experience and capability,” and added, “Along with exporting warships overseas, we will devote our utmost efforts to make the MRO business a leading brand of ‘K-defense’ based on the experience and capabilities we have accumulated so far.”
