On December 15, South Korea’s HJ Shipbuilding & Construction (HJSC) announced that it had signed a Mid-Term Availability (MTA) contract with the U.S. Navy’s Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) and the Military Sealift Command (MSC) for the 40,000-ton Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Amelia Earhart. The contract marks the company’s first tangible achievement since declaring its entry into the U.S. Navy MRO business and carries significant strategic importance.
HJ Shipbuilding & Construction press release – Translation by Naval News
The MRO project involves essential maintenance, repair, overhaul, and improvement work required to sustain the vessel’s operational readiness throughout its service life.
The USNS Amelia Earhart is a logistics support vessel that supplies up to 6,000 tons of ammunition, food, and general cargo, as well as 2,400 tons of fuel, to U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and combat ships. Commissioned in 2008, the vessel has supported U.S. Navy logistics operations for over a decade. It measures 210 meters in length and 32 meters in beam, and can operate at speeds of up to 20 knots (approximately 37 km/h). The ship is named after Amelia Earhart, the American aviation pioneer and human rights advocate who became the first woman to successfully fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
As the oldest and most experienced shipbuilder in Korea’s naval defense industry, HJSC’s latest contract is viewed as a critical milestone in establishing a foothold in the U.S. Navy MRO market. The MRO business provides high value-added services throughout a vessel’s lifecycle and is particularly lucrative in the U.S. Navy sector, where stringent regulations and advanced technical requirements create high barriers to entry.
Expectations across Korea’s defense industry are rising amid expanding defense cooperation among Indo-Pacific allies, driven by the Korea–U.S. MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again) project and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Regional Sustainment Framework (RSF) policy.
Building on decades of experience in special-purpose vessel construction and maintenance, HJSC has been preparing to enter the global MRO market since 2024. Since being designated Korea’s first defense shipbuilder in 1974, the company has delivered more than 1,200 naval and auxiliary vessels and logistics support systems, establishing a unique level of expertise and technological capability across both shipbuilding and MRO domains.
As HJSC accelerated its MRO market entry this year, senior officials including the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea, on-site inspection teams from NAVSUP, and a Deputy Assistant Secretary from the U.S. Department of Commerce visited the company’s Yeongdo Shipyard in Busan to assess its facilities, equipment, security posture, and technical capabilities.
“This contract demonstrates international recognition of our maintenance capabilities, technical expertise, and contract execution capacity, the core competitiveness required in the MRO business. Leveraging more than 50 years of experience as a specialized naval defense shipbuilder, we will meet the U.S. Navy’s requirements for schedule and quality to build lasting trust.”
Yoo Sang-cheol, CEO of HJ Shipbuilding & Construction
Following the contract signing, HJSC will commence full-scale maintenance work at the quay of its Yeongdo Shipyard in Busan starting in January next year. After completing hull and major system inspections, repairs, component replacements, and painting, the vessel is scheduled to be redelivered to the U.S. Navy by the end of March next year.
