The national security multi-mission vessel Lone Star State is christened at Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia on July 17. Photo courtesy of Hanwha group
July 23 (Asia Today) -- South Korea and the United States have opened a shipbuilding cooperation center in Washington, moving their partnership beyond government declarations and preliminary agreements toward developing and implementing commercial projects.
The Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center will serve as a base for $150 billion in planned shipbuilding investment, U.S. shipyard modernization, workforce development and joint research.
The center's opening was accompanied by 15 agreements involving South Korea's three largest shipbuilders, U.S. shipyards, technology companies, universities and research institutions.
The agreements give the Make American Shipbuilding Great Again initiative, known as MASGA, a more detailed framework. Its success, however, will depend on how quickly the center can generate ship orders, maintenance contracts and actual investments.
