Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard. (courtesy of Hanwha Ocean)
A draft US defense bill for fiscal year 2027 includes language that would narrow a longstanding ban on building US Navy vessels at foreign shipyards, limiting the restriction to battle force ships listed in the Navy’s official fleet inventory. Auxiliary vessels not included in the category of battle force ships, such as strategic transport ships, bulk fuel carriers, and hospital ships, may be exempt from the ban on foreign construction.In the first draft of the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act released Wednesday by the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, the naval shipbuilding and conversion provision differs from the language used in the 2025 bill.The draft stipulates that none of the funds provided under the bill can be used for the construction of “any covered ship” in foreign shipyards.The term “covered ship” refers to a commissioned battle force ship that is included in the battle force count of the Naval Vessel Register. After a review by the subcommittee during a closed-door meeting on Thursday at 9 am, the bill heads to the full committee for consideration on June 24. Until last year, the bill’s wording indicated that a wider range of ships would be ineligible for such funds. The explanatory text of the FY2026 appropriations bill for naval vessel construction stated that none of the allocated funds could be used to build “any naval vessel” or major components in foreign shipyards.If passed as is, this latest bill could open the possibility for the US to utilize foreign shipyards for vessels that are not officially commissioned as warships and are operated by a civilian crew. What is noteworthy about this shift is that the US Navy sought a substantial budget for the construction of auxiliary vessels in its FY2027 budget request.The administration’s budget request for naval ship construction for the year totals around US$65.8 billion, including the procurement of 18 battle force ships and 16 auxiliary ships. Earlier, on June 5, the House Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act proposed by Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME).The amendment prohibits the use of the funds authorized to be appropriated by the Navy from being used to enter into contracts for the procurement of battle force ships to be built in foreign shipyards. While the intention of the amendment is to prevent the overseas construction of auxiliary ships operated by civilian entities, the overall framework, which does not completely close the door on auxiliary ships that are not classified as battle force ships, is consistent with the authorization act. By Kim Won-chul, Washington correspondentPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
