South Korean Yards Want to Build U.S. Navy Ships in Korea
To complement Korea's U.S. shipbuilding investments, plans are afoot to get U.S. government orders for Korean newbuilds
South Korea's business leaders are aware that a multi-billion-dollar diplomatic agreement to invest in the U.S. market could dent future plans for investment at home, since so much of South Korea's industrial capital will be going overseas to projects in the United States. They are responding with assurances of continued domestic spending, and hoping to balance the arrangement by building more products for U.S. customers within Korea - including U.S. naval vessels, according to Chosun Daily and Maeil Business News.
"We have decided to seek institutional improvements to enable even the construction of US Navy vessels within South Korea," confirmed President Lee Jae-Myung last week.
"The Korean shipbuilding industry is also preparing for U.S. business in a mutually beneficial direction," HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun told Maeil last week. "Easing regulations on the defense sector in the U.S. is an important task.
Buying U.S. Navy vessels from foreign yards is currently prohibited by law, and doing it would require American political leaders to change or waive 10 USC §8679.
The plan, according to Chosun Daily, is to start with overhauls of naval auxiliary vessels, like fleet oilers; then proceed to overhauls of U.S. Navy combatant vessels; and then lastly, to pursue U.S. Navy newbuild construction contracts, only after finding a way around the legal prohibition on foreign construction of U.S. warships.
The first step has already been done, starting with a successful yard period for USNS Wally Schirra (T-AKE-8) earlier this year. The second step is under way: in a deal formalized last week, the U.S. and Korea agreed to "further expand cooperation in shipbuilding and Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) . . . to include combat ships," according to Minister of National Defense An Kyu-baek.
Moving beyond repair to include new construction would require several legal steps in the United States. The Trump administration could waive the foreign-shipyard legal requirement, and has the authority to do so. The White House has already placed overseas orders by buying a series of Coast Guard icebreakers from Finnish shipyards, without significant pushback from Congress.
"Last month, U.S. Coast Guard ships could be built in Finland under U.S. President Donald Trump's order, and this could be applied to the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project," HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun told Maeil. "We are explaining it to the U.S. government at the corporate level, but we ask for special attention and support at the [Korean] government level."
Chosun notes that there is one more small political obstacle: Congress currently inserts a no-foreign-build clause in the annual defense appropriation bill, and this would need to be omitted or waived as well if orders were to proceed at scale.
Norway’s MPCC Pursues Fleet Renewal with Four-Ship Newbuild Order
Norwegian boxship owner MPC Container Ships ASA (MPCC) is pushing ahead with a fleet renewal program after committing to invest $232 million in four newbuilds.
The company, which in recent months has been implementing a plan to divest less efficient vessels and pump investments into new tonnage, said that it has placed an order at Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry for the construction of four 4,500 TEU container vessels. The newbuilds, each worth $58 million, are scheduled for delivery from the first half of 2028. The company has an option for two additional vessels at the same price.
MPCC highlighted that it has already secured a 10-year time charter with extension options for the four vessels with a leading global liner company. Both the company and the charterer collaborated in the vessel design and commercial structure to ensure an optimal fit for their network, operational profile, and long-term sustainability objectives.
The newbuilds, which will be financed through a balanced mix of equity and debt, will feature advanced energy-efficient technologies, reducing slot costs by about 50 percent compared to similar-sized peers.
The order for the four vessels is the latest that MPCC is making as part of its ongoing transition to a younger, more efficient, and environmentally compliant fleet. Last month, the company awarded contracts worth $66 million to Chinese Fujian Mawei Shipyard for two 1,600 TEU high cube container vessels whose deliveries are scheduled for the second half of 2027. THey will be deployed on fixed eight-year time charters.
In July, MPCC signed contracts for four 4,500 TEU container vessels with Chinese shipyard Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering worth a combined $228 million, with the newbuilds scheduled for delivery from the second half of 2027. Parallel to the newbuild contracts, the company announced the sale of three 1,300 TEU vessels for $32 million.
“Our fleet renewal strategy continues to gain momentum with this latest initiative,” said Constantin Baack, MPCC CEO. “With today’s announcement, MPCC has secured 10 newbuildings with attached charters this year, underscoring our ability to deliver value-accretive deals with top-tier partners and strengthen strategic customer relationships while reinforcing our commitment to long-term shareholder value.”
The Oslo-listed company, which operates a fleet of 54 vessels with an aggregate capacity of approximately 133,080 TEU, is upbeat over future market prospects. Its operating revenues increased to $138 million in the second quarter of 2025 compared to $131 million for the same period in 2024. MPCC saw its profits hit $78 million compared to $65 million in 2024.
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