Hanwha Ocean Co., a major South Korean shipbuilder, has secured a contract to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for the U.S. Navy ship Charles Drew, according to Yonhap.
The company won the U.S. Navy’s regular MRO project for the Charles Drew, a dry cargo and ammunition ship assigned to the Navy’s 7th Fleet.
The non-combat vessel is expected to arrive at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard, about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, later this month and be delivered back to the U.S. Navy by the end of the year.
The Charles Drew is a large ship of the same class as the Wally Schirr, which Hanwha Ocean had previously undertaken and completed repairs for as the first in the Korean shipbuilding industry. The contract size is said to be tens of billions of won. The Charles Drew is a non-combat supply ship with a full load displacement of 41,000 tons, a length of about 210 meters, and a width of 32 meters. It can carry 3,400 tons of fuel, 200 tons of fresh water, 6,675 tons of dry goods (ammunition, etc.), and 1,700 tons of frozen supplies, serving as the main supply ship of the US Navy.
This marks the third time Hanwha has won an MRO project for a U.S. Navy vessel.
In August last year, it became the first South Korean shipbuilder to secure such a contract, for the Navy’s logistics support ship Wally Schirra. In November, it also won an MRO deal for the replenishment oiler Yukon, which has completed repairs and left the Geoje shipyard.
Hanwha Marine discovered internal damage to the hull of the Wally Schirra while repairing it, and signed an additional contract (called a change order) after consultation with the U.S. Navy, extending the contract. Thus, the Korean shipbuilding industry expects the Charles Drew’s repair work may add additional content, further boosting profitability.
Hanwha Ocean expects to continue undertaking MRO work for the US Navy, targeting 5-6 projects this year.