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U.S. Requests Information on South Korean Shipbuilders' Naval Capacity
The United States has sent requests for information to three major South Korean shipbuilders about their ability to construct naval vessels. The companies provided details on design capabilities and production capacity last month.
Jul 7, 7:55 PM·2m read1 source
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The United States has asked major South Korean shipbuilders to provide information on their capacity to build naval vessels, including destroyers and fleet replenishment ships, industry sources said Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Defense and the Navy recently sent requests for information to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.
and Hanwha Ocean Co. The two companies submitted details on their destroyer design capabilities and shipbuilding capacity last month. For a separate request on medium-sized naval tankers, the two shipbuilders and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. also submitted responses.
"We responded to the U.S. RFIs by providing a comprehensive overview of the shipyards' capabilities, including their shipbuilding track record, design workforce and expertise, and annual shipbuilding capacity," an industry official said, asking for anonymity.
Background on Requests Under the U.S.
Federal Acquisition Regulation, an RFI is a procedure used by the government to gather pricing, delivery terms and other market information for planning purposes. The requests follow discussions between officials from both countries during last month's Group of Seven summit about whether South Korean shipbuilders would be able to quickly build 10 U.S. Navy vessels.
Officials replied that South Korean shipbuilders were capable of doing so and would make their best efforts. The RFIs have raised expectations that Seoul and Washington will accelerate their shipbuilding partnership under the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" initiative, unveiled during a summit in November last year.
Under the agreement, South Korea committed US$150 billion of its $350 billion U.S. investment package to support shipbuilding projects in naval and commercial shipbuilding as well as related supply chains. Since then, South Korean shipbuilders have stepped up efforts to enter the tightly regulated U.S. naval shipbuilding market, where foreign participation is limited under the Jones Act and other regulations.
