South Korea’s shipbuilding industry is intensifying efforts to secure maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) contracts for U.S. Navy ships. Among the country’s three major shipbuilders, only Samsung Heavy Industries has yet to obtain MSRA certification from the U.S. Navy.
South Korean media reports that Samsung Heavy Industries, led by its U.S. operations division, has begun preparations for its Maintenance Support and Repair Agreement (MSRA) certification application. The company plans to collect documents proving it meets the basic qualification requirements and submit the application to the U.S. Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP). Given that the process typically takes about eight months, Samsung Heavy Industries aims to complete the certification this year.
MSRA is a ship maintenance qualification granted by NAVSUP following formal verification of a private shipyard’s repair capabilities. The assessment scope includes the shipyard’s repair capacity, financial stability, quality and safety management systems, security systems and supply chain management. Contracted shipyards certified with MSRA are eligible to bid on MRO projects for all U.S. Navy mainline ships, including logistics support ships, combat ships and frigates. The certification is valid for five years.
On January 16, 2026, South Korea’s mid-sized shipbuilder HJ Heavy Industries announced it had obtained NAVSUP’s MSRA certification. Earlier in December 2025, HJ Heavy Industries had secured the mid-life maintenance contract for the U.S. Navy’s 40,000-ton logistics support ship USNS Amelia Earhart. This achievement makes HJ Heavy Industries the third South Korean shipbuilder—following Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries—to win a U.S. Navy project and obtain MSRA certification.
As multiple South Korean shipbuilders, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean, have successively obtained MSRA certification and undertaken U.S. Navy MRO projects, the trend of incorporating such projects into their mid-to-long-term business pillars is spreading throughout the entire South Korean shipbuilding industry.
Data indicates that the U.S. Navy’s MRO market is estimated at approximately $13.83 billion annually. Its structural characteristics stem from the continuous maintenance requirements of active-duty ships, thereby generating stable repair demand.