Hanwha Ocean press release
The welcome ceremony was attended by over 50 officials from the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command Far East, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and Geoje City.
The USNS Wally Schirra, a dry cargo and ammunition ship, delivers supplies to customer ships at sea, including ammunition, food, repair parts, and small quantities of fuel. The vessel has a displacement of 41,000 tons, a length of 210 meters, and a beam of 32.2 meters. The ship is scheduled to undergo overhaul at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard for approximately three months before being redelivered to the U.S. Navy.
Hanwha Ocean secured this project after obtaining the Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA), leveraging its world-class shipbuilding technology and infrastructure.
Consequently, the U.S. has been actively considering outsourcing naval maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations to allies with advanced shipbuilding technology and facilities.
“We are very proud to be the first Korean shipyard to undertake an MRO operation for a U.S. Navy vessel. We will continue to uphold the reputation of the Korean maritime defense industry with timely and high-quality MRO services.”
Hanwha Ocean spokesperson
In addition to engaging in U.S. naval MRO projects, Hanwha Ocean is preparing to enter the overhaul and upgrade market for ships it has built and exported to countries such as Indonesia and Thailand.
