HJ Heavy Industries has efficiently secured its first contract for upkeep, restore, and overhaul (MRO) companies for U.S. Navy logistics help vessels.
HJ Heavy Industries introduced on Dec. 15 that it has signed an intermediate upkeep contract with the U.S. Navy Provide Methods Command (NAVSUP) and Army Sealift Command (MSC) for the 40,000-ton dry cargo and ammunition vessel USNS Amelia Earhart. This MRO undertaking includes important MRO and enchancment work to keep up the vessel’s operational readiness.
The USNS Amelia Earhart is a logistics help vessel that provides as much as 6,000 tons of ammunition, meals, and cargo, together with 2,400 tons of gas to U.S. plane carriers and fight ships. Commissioned in 2008, it has been performing U.S. Navy logistics help missions and may function at speeds of 20 knots (37 km/h). The vessel is known as after Amelia Earhart, an American civil rights activist and the primary lady to efficiently full a transatlantic flight.
HJ Heavy Industries plans to start full-scale upkeep work on the Yeongdo Shipyard pier in Busan beginning January subsequent yr, full hull and main system inspections and repairs, components alternative and portray work, and ship the vessel to the U.S. Navy by the tip of March subsequent yr.
HJ Heavy Industries’ contract is critical in that it has established a basis for getting into the U.S. Navy MRO market. MRO is a enterprise that gives numerous high-value-added MRO companies all through a vessel’s lifecycle. U.S. Navy vessel MRO notably requires stringent laws and superior technical capabilities, creating excessive limitations to entry, but additionally providing substantial profitability.
With the Korea-U.S. MASGA (Making American Shipbuilding Nice Once more) undertaking and the U.S. Division of Protection’s introduction of the Regional Sustainment Framework (RSF) coverage, the enlargement of protection business cooperation amongst Indo-Pacific allies has heightened expectations inside Korea’s protection business.
HJ Heavy Industries has been making ready to enter abroad MRO markets since final yr, primarily based on expertise collected in particular vessel development and upkeep. Since being designated as Korea’s first marine protection business firm in 1974, the corporate has leveraged its expertise and technical capabilities in conducting over 1,200 numerous naval vessels and navy logistics help system tasks, from developing state-of-the-art vessels to MRO operations.
As HJ Heavy Industries has accelerated its entry into the MRO enterprise this yr, the U.S. Navy Commander in Korea, U.S. Navy Provide Methods Command area inspection groups, and U.S. Division of Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary have successively visited the Yeongdo Shipyard in Busan to straight confirm services, gear, safety standing, and technical capabilities.
Yu Sang-cheol, CEO of HJ Heavy Industries, acknowledged, “By means of this contract signing, our firm’s upkeep capabilities, technical experience, and contract execution talents—core competencies within the MRO enterprise—have gained worldwide recognition. Primarily based on the technical capabilities and infrastructure we’ve got constructed over 50 years as a naval vessel specialised protection business firm, we’ll meet the supply schedule and high quality requirements requested by the U.S. Navy to construct belief.”
