Latest news with #USNSWallySchirra
Nikkei Asia
19 hours ago
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
South Korea shipbuilders catch rising tide of US Navy business
Hanwha Ocean executives and U.S. Navy officials observe maintenance on the USNS Wally Schirra in October. (Hanhwa Ocean) NAMI MATSUURA SEOUL -- South Korea's shipbuilders are wining U.S. deals with government encouragement, aiming to chip away at China's global dominance by leveraging the alliance between Washington and Seoul as well as the Trump administration's push to revive the American industry. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, South Korea's largest shipbuilder, last month announced a partnership with a company in the U.S.-based Edison Chouest Offshore group. The companies plan to build container ships that can run partly on liquefied natural gas, hoping to begin deliveries by 2028.
Newsweek
02-05-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Japan Repairs US Floating Base in Alliance Milestone
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A United States naval ship that serves as a floating base completed an overhaul in Japan, marking the first time a Japanese shipyard performed such maintenance for the ally's navy. This alliance milestone comes as U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan's visit to Japan earlier this week, who suggested that the American treaty ally could help Washington counter China's rapid naval buildup by building ships for civilian and military uses. Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry via email for comment. Why It Matters China is seeking to challenge America's naval dominance with the largest navy in the world by hull count. An expert previously explained to Newsweek that China has conducted "very significant" infrastructure construction programs, supporting the expansion of its warship fleet. A Newsweek map shows that the U.S. Navy has only four active public shipyards, while China has 307 shipyards, with 35 sites having known ties to military or national security projects. President Donald Trump has vowed to increase U.S. shipbuilding to compete with China. What To Know The U.S. expeditionary mobile base USS Miguel Keith on April 15 completed a five-month regular overhaul at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Yokohama, Japan, the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC) said on Thursday. The 787-foot-long Miguel Keith, which has been stationed in the Seventh Fleet's operating area—the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans—since 2020, can launch helicopters and small boats, provide living quarters for troops and operate command-and-control facilities. The U.S. Navy expeditionary mobile base USS Miguel Keith completed a five-month overhaul at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Yokohama, Japan, on April 15, 2025. The U.S. Navy expeditionary mobile base USS Miguel Keith completed a five-month overhaul at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Yokohama, Japan, on April 15, 2025. Randall Baucom/U.S. Navy Captain Wendel Penetrante, commander of the SRF-JRMC, explained that using the Japanese shipyard for repair has allowed the SRF-JRMC to focus its efforts on the three other warship maintenance availabilities being conducted simultaneously in Yokosuka. "We were even able to complete one of those availabilities [three] days early and respond to two unplanned voyage repairs," the commander said. The SRF-JRMC provides intermediate- and depot-level repair in support of American naval operations in the Indo-Pacific region. The Miguel Keith became the second American naval vessel to complete an overhaul at a foreign shipyard in the Western Pacific Ocean after the dry cargo ship USNS Wally Schirra concluded its overhaul by South Korea's shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean on March 12. During the overhaul at the Japanese shipyard, the Miguel Keith replaced 56,000 square feet of decking on its flight deck and mission deck, completed deck replacement and preservation in 29 spaces aboard, and painted its entire exterior from bow to stern, the press release said. What People Are Saying The U.S. Navy said: "Charged with expanding and revitalizing U.S. naval shipbuilding, the [Secretary of the Navy John Phelan] toured Japan Marine United (JMU) to understand industry best practices and encourage investment in American shipyards, reinforcing President Trump's America First agenda." U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan said in an interview with Nikkei Asia: "One of the things I've noticed studying the Chinese navy and the Chinese shipbuilding industry is they design their commercial ships with a military application in mind." The Center for Strategic and International Studies reported: "China's lead in the global commercial shipbuilding market is huge and its 'military-civil fusion' strategy, China has integrated commercial and military production at many of its shipyards, giving its People's Liberation Army Navy access to infrastructure, investment, and intellectual property acquired from commercial contracts." What Happens Next The U.S. is likely to arrange for additional naval ships to undergo overhaul at shipyards owned by Japan and South Korea during their deployments in the Indo-Pacific region. Maintenance in theater would reduce downtime and costs, enhancing the U.S. Navy's readiness.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A US Navy supply ship just finished up major maintenance work at a South Korean shipyard for the first time
South Korea completed major maintenance on a US Navy supply vessel for the first time. Doing maintenance in the region reduces downtime and costs, US Naval Forces Korea said. Officials and experts have said that South Korea may have some answers to US shipbuilding woes. In a strategically significant first as the US military looks for options to repair and maintain ships in the priority Indo-Pacific theater, a South Korean shipyard has completed large-scale maintenance work on a US Navy supply ship. Earlier this week, South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean finished up repairs on USNS Wally Schirra, a Military Sealift Command Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship. The regular overhaul (ROH) took seven months. Per Military Sealift Command, this is the first time a South Korean shipyard has bid on and won an ROH contract of this scale for this type of vessel. Smaller voyage repairs take place regularly at allied yards. It's "a landmark achievement," Rear. Admiral. Neil Koprowski, Commander, US Naval Forces Korea, said, noting that "maintenance in theater reduces downtime and costs, while enhancing operational readiness." The maintenance included addressing "extensive deterioration and damage to the hull, propeller, rudder, and rudder post/steering gear," Cmdr. Patrick J. Moore, commanding office, MSC Office-Korea, said. The Wally Schirra is part of the US Navy's Combat Logistic Force, vessels that keep US Navy vessels supplied with fuel, food, spare parts, and other critical needs. "Notably, Hanwha engineers reverse-engineered the damaged rudder, completely replacing the unit when blueprint were not available," Moore said. "This saved significant time and resources in getting Wally Schirra back to sea, a testament to their resilient supply chains, advanced automations, and skilled workforce." The repairs come as leaders in Washington are addressing American shipbuilding problems, and some officials and experts have indicated South Korea and other Pacific allies may have some solutions. South Korea boasts the second largest shipbuilding industry in the world behind China and has been identified by US officials and naval affairs experts as an example for how to fix some problems in American shipbuilding. Earlier this week, a House Armed Services Committee's Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee hearing included discussions on what lessons the US could take from South Korea and Japan's shipbuilders. Some bigger takeaways included adopting their approaches to in-house worker training, certain ways of addressing capability, operations, and material management issues, and the design and construction processes. Ronald O'Rourke, a naval affairs specialist and longtime Congressional Research Service analyst, pointed specifically to South Korea's ship designs. The country tends to construct larger sections that improve worker access and straighter, less convoluted pipes "with a strong focus on reducing the labor hours needed to produce them." O'Rourke noted that South Korea and Japan's shipbuilding models feature many practices for world-class shipbuilding standards and efficient shipyard operations. Past US Navy leadership has praised these two US allies for their shipbuilding prowess. The last Navy secretary was particularly impressed by the digitization and real-time monitoring for timely deliveries at South Korean shipyards. More broadly, the recent hearing focused on what Congress and the Navy needed to do to address dire US shipbuilding problems and the Navy's top programs running overtime and over budget. Fixing those issues has become as a top priority for the Trump administration, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump's pick for secretary of the navy. But experts, analysts, and officials have noted that many of the US' shipbuilding woes are decades-old challenges that won't be fixed overnight. Read the original article on Business Insider
