Hanwha Ocean has initiated efforts to establish a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) hub for warships in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the company's release.
This initiative is intended to address the rising domestic and international demand for warship maintenance.
On May 14, Hanwha Ocean held a launch meeting for the "Warship MRO Cluster Council" at its Geoje facility.
At the meeting, Hanwha Ocean signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with 15 companies, including Seongdong Shipbuilding and SK Oceanplant.
These companies are shipbuilding, maintenance, and equipment firms based in the Busan, Gyeongnam, and Geoje regions.
The primary goal of the Warship MRO Cluster Council is to establish a comprehensive cooperation system between Hanwha Ocean and local companies, aiming to strengthen partnerships for mutual growth.
Hanwha Ocean plans to evaluate the potential of regional companies as strategic partners and implement differentiated collaboration strategies.
The company intends to share detailed plans for each item with selected partners from the early stages of the contract process.
Key areas of focus for the council include enhancing competitiveness and business models for the warship MRO sector, identifying pre-cooperation models for entering domestic and overseas MRO markets, securing supply chains for MRO equipment, reducing project preparation time and risks, and improving warship maintenance performance and operational availability.
Most of the 15 companies that signed the MOU are shipbuilding, maintenance, and equipment firms based in Busan, Gyeongnam, and Geoje. Hanwha Ocean has already established a system for producing parts for warship maintenance by collaborating with more than 1,000 equipment and parts suppliers in the region.
Last year, Hanwha Ocean rented a site from a medium-sized shipyard in the Geoje area to conduct preliminary repair work for the US Navy’s 7th Fleet ship, USNS Yukon, as part of its MRO business. The company aims to stimulate the local economy through the expansion of MRO operations.
Kim Dae-sik, Executive Director of Hanwha Ocean’s Special Ship MRO Division, said, "Through the formation of the Warship MRO Cluster Council, we plan to build a new growth ecosystem for the global defense industry and the regional economy." He added, "We will establish Hanwha Ocean’s warship cluster as the leading MRO hub in the Indo-Pacific region and expand into the North American MRO market."
In 2023, Hanwha Ocean became the first South Korean shipbuilder to secure MRO contracts for two US Navy warships. The first, USNS Wally Schirra, completed maintenance work and departed in March. The second, USNS Yukon, is undergoing repairs with departure scheduled for the end of May.
The global warship MRO market is projected to grow from approximately KRW 78.7 trillion in 2024 to KRW 86.7 trillion by 2029. The US MRO market, the largest segment, is estimated at KRW 20 trillion.
Hanwha Ocean, formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), is a South Korean shipbuilder specializing in the construction of warships, submarines, and commercial vessels. It was acquired by Hanwha Group in 2023 and continues to expand into defense and MRO services.