U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States could order advanced vessels from allied nations, sending Korea’s shipbuilders in a rush to accelerate its presence in the United States to win contracts from the U.S. Navy.
“We are going to be rebuilding our shipbuilding business,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
We may […] have to go to Congress for this, but we may buy some ships from other countries that we’re close to and that do great jobs with ships, but we’re going to start the process of rebuilding,” he said.
His comments came after National Security Advisor Mike Waltz briefed him on an executive order signed the previous day to boost U.S. shipbuilding capacity. Waltz noted that while China secured 1,700 shipbuilding contracts last year, American shipyards won just five.
It’s “ridiculous,” Trump responded.
“It’s going to be a very big business for us in the not-too-distant future, but in the meantime, we have countries that do very well at building ships, and we’ll be dealing with those countries, and we may be ordering top-of-the-line ships from those countries,” he said.
Industry analysts interpret the remarks as a nod to allies like Korea and Japan, suggesting the United States may rely on their capabilities until its own shipbuilding infrastructure is restored.
Hanwha Ocean is also accelerating its U.S. expansion. In December, the company acquired the Philadelphia-based Philly Shipyard for $100 million and is now considering additional investments. In March, Hanwha purchased a 9.9 percent stake in Austal, an Australian shipbuilding and defense firm, for 168.7 billion won ($118 million). Austal operates shipyards in Alabama and California and supplies small surface vessels to the U.S. Navy.
Industry observers believe Korean companies are moving quickly to prepare for potential U.S. orders, particularly as Trump is likely to demand local investments in return.
U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan emphasized the importance of international collaboration at Sea Air Space 2025 held in Maryland on Wednesday.
“A whole-of-government and industry approach and public-private partnerships” will be needed to fix years of underinvestment in shipbuilding that has left the United States “vulnerable,” he said.
At his Senate confirmation hearing in February, Phelan also referenced Hanwha’s acquisition of the Philadelphia Shipyard.
“They are going to […] enhance that and make that better,” he said. “So bringing their capital and skill sets here would be important.”
Source: Korea JoongAng Daily
