Hanwha Ocean forms MRO cluster to meet growing US naval demand
Hanwha Ocean has partnered with 15 local firms to form an MRO cluster, aimed at meeting rising US Navy demand and building an Indo-Pacific maintenance hub
While expanding its US presence, the company says the dissolution of its Chinese subsidiary is unrelated to its broader strategy
HANWHA Ocean has engaged local companies relevant to the shipbuilding industry to meet the growing demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of naval ships, particularly from the US.
The company signed an MOU with 15 local shipbuilders and maintenance equipment suppliers — including HSG Sungdong Shipbuilding and SK Ocean Plant — to establish an MRO cluster council, with the aim of creating the leading hub for such services in the Indo-Pacific region.
Hanwha Ocean said: “The purpose of the MOU is to increase capacity in response to the growing demand of the US Navy and to enhance the competitiveness of our partner companies.”
The council will collaborate in the development and expansion of MRO business competitiveness and business models; the development of a pre-co-operation model for entering domestic and international MRO markets; securing supply chain management related to the MRO business; the reduction of the business preparation period and minimisation of risks; and the improvement of MRO performance and operational availability.
Most of these companies are involved in shipbuilding and shipbuilding equipment, and are located in Busan and Geoje, in South Gyeongsang province.
Having evaluated their potential as strategic partners for MRO, Hanwha Ocean will collaborate with the selected firms from the initial contract stage onwards.
According to Hanwha, the size of the global naval vessel MRO market is estimated at Won78.7trn ($55.7bn) in 2024 and is expected to grow to Won86.7trn by 2029.
Hanwha Ocean had leased a shipyard site from a medium-sized shipbuilder in Geoje for pre-repair work on USNS Yukon (IMO: 8822454), a replenishment oiler assigned to the US Navy’s 7th Fleet. The company won the contract for this work in 2024.
To date, Hanwha Ocean has won contracts for two MRO projects for the US Navy, including USNS Wally Schirra (IMO: 9345116) — the first vessel to be awarded to a South Korean company for MRO purposes. The company expects to win a further five to six MRO projects this year.
While ramping up efforts to expand its US business, the builder said the recent dissolution of its Chinese subsidiary — despite Washington’s increasing scrutiny of China’s shipbuilding dominance — is unrelated to this strategy.
DM-CMHI Heavy Industry was formed through a joint venture between Singapore topsides specialist Dyna-Mac and China Merchants Heavy Industry in 2020.
The unit, which focused on module fabrication and green energy projects in China, became a subsidiary of Hanwha Group when it acquired a 95.15% stake in Dyna-Mac for Won820.7bn in 2024. Dyna-Mac has since been rebranded as Hanwha Offshore Singapore.
A Hanwha Ocean official told Lloyd’s List: “Dyna-Mac’s management made the decision to dissolve, and the dissolution process had begun prior to our acquisition of Dyna-Mac.”
