HD Hyundai Heavy Industries wins another U.S. Navy ship maintenance contract

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said on the 7th that it recently won a contract for a regular overhaul of the 41,000-ton cargo replenishment ship USNS Cesar Chavez, which serves with the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet.

The USNS Cesar Chavez, which entered service in 2012, is 210 meters long, 32 meters wide and 9.4 meters high.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will begin work on the ship on the 19th at a quay near its medium-sized shipbuilding division in Ulsan. It will carry out detailed maintenance on more than 100 items, including the hull and structures, propulsion, electrical systems and auxiliary machinery, and plans to deliver the ship to the U.S. Navy in March.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries also said it successfully completed maintenance, repair and overhaul work on the U.S. Navy logistics support ship USNS Alan Shepard late last year and that the ship departed on the 6th. The company won the contract in August, marking its first MRO order from the U.S. Navy.

The initial contract called for work on more than 60 items, but more than 100 additional items were identified during the work, extending the maintenance period and significantly increasing the contract value. The MRO work proceeded smoothly thanks to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ close cooperation and swift response.

The U.S. Navy said it was very satisfied to receive the USNS Alan Shepard on schedule, restored to excellent condition, and that, based on its experience with MRO providers around the world, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries was its best partner. The work is seen as having further strengthened the partnership between the two sides.

Joo Won-ho, president of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and head of its naval and medium-sized shipbuilding division, said, “We successfully completed our first MRO project for a U.S. Navy ship, drawing on our unparalleled technology and expertise. Since the launch of the naval and medium-sized shipbuilding division, we have further strengthened our capabilities and efficiency in carrying out MRO work, and we will lead the U.S. Navy ship MRO market.”

Meanwhile, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries plans to further strengthen its competitiveness following its merger with HD Hyundai Mipo late last year. The merger brings together its accumulated naval shipbuilding technology and expertise with the docks, facilities and workforce of the medium-sized shipbuilding division, which is well suited to naval ship construction.