HD Hyundai inks shipbuilding deal with Edison Chouest Offshore in U.S.

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HD Hyundai inks shipbuilding deal with Edison Chouest Offshore in U.S.

Published: 23 Jun. 2025, 12:25 Updated: 23 Jun. 2025, 18:31

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A view of an Edison Chouest Offshore shipyard [YONHAP]

HD Hyundai has secured a foothold for shipbuilding operations in the United States through a new partnership with Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), the Korean shipbuilder announced on Sunday.

The two companies signed a strategic and comprehensive partnership agreement to construct commercial vessels in the United States during a ceremony held on Thursday at ECO’s headquarters in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Head of the Corporate Planning Division at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Choi Han-nae and ECO CEO Dino Chouest attended the signing.

HD Hyundai and ECO will cooperate on the construction of dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) container ships under the agreement.

ECO, a U.S.-based shipbuilding group, owns five shipyards capable of building commercial vessels. It has constructed and operated 300 vessels, primarily in the offshore support segment.

The companies plan to jointly build mid-sized container carriers at ECO shipyards through 2028.

HD Hyundai will provide ship design, equipment procurement and technical support, and will also manufacture and supply some of the vessel blocks. The company will also continue investing in technological assets as part of the partnership.

Looking ahead, the two companies plan to expand their cooperation to cover additional vessel types and port security-related infrastructure such as harbor cranes.

From 2022 to 2024, U.S. shipbuilders received orders for only three container ships — all 3,600 twenty-foot equivalent unit vessels ordered by U.S.-based shipping companies — according to global shipbuilding and shipping market tracker Clarkson Research.

Choi Han-nae, head of the Corporate Planning Division at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, right, and Dino Chouest, CEO of Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) pose for a photo at the signing ceremony at ECO's headquarters in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 19. [YONHAP]

ECO approached HD Hyundai for cooperation in response to this stagnant order volume, with HD Hyundai agreeing to the partnership in consideration of business expansion opportunities in the United States and the importance of collaboration with a key ally.

“The United States is a reliable ally and a major business partner,” an HD Hyundai representative said. “Through our partnership with ECO, we aim to actively support efforts to revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding industry and enhance its maritime security.”

HD Hyundai continues to strengthen ties with the U.S. shipbuilding industry, in addition to this partnership on commercial vessel construction.

The company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Huntington Ingalls Industries, the largest U.S. defense shipbuilder, to cooperate on improving ship production efficiency and advancing shipbuilding technologies.

Huntington Ingalls’ Newport News Shipbuilding has built every nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and most of the nuclear submarines for the U.S. Navy.

HD Hyundai also signed an MOU with the University of Michigan and Seoul National University in July last year to jointly foster shipbuilding talent, as part of broader efforts to expand cooperation in the shipbuilding and maritime sectors with the United States.

“The U.S. government is expected to place more naval and commercial vessel orders in the future,” said Yang Jong-seo, a senior researcher at the Export-Import Bank of Korea. “We’ll likely see more examples of companies entering the U.S. market by forming partnerships with local shipyards, as HD Hyundai has done.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY PARK YOUNG-WOO [[email protected]]