US evaluating frigates from South Korea, Japan and Turkey

Navy must complete review by Nov. 12

Hanwha Ocean, HD Hyundai Heavy, SK Ocean Plant inspected

US shipbuilding revival adopts 'Finland model'

The USS Gerald R. Ford heads toward Norfolk Naval Station as seen from Fort Monroe, Virginia, on Aug. 16 (local time). [AP]
The USS Gerald R. Ford heads toward Norfolk Naval Station as seen from Fort Monroe, Virginia, on Aug. 16 (local time). [AP]

The United States is considering South Korea's latest Chungnam-class guided-missile frigate as a candidate for overseas naval vessel procurement, sources said. Attention is turning to the prospect of South Korean shipbuilders entering the US naval market as Washington pursues what is being called a "Finland model" — building initial vessels abroad to quickly supplement domestic shipbuilding capacity, then transferring the technology and production methods back to the United States.

According to USNI News, a US Navy trade publication, Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao has directed William Mahan, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, to complete assessments of surface combatants, roll-on/roll-off vessels and consolidated afloat replenishment oil tankers by Nov. 12.

The surface combatant candidates include frigates from South Korea, Japan and Turkey — specifically South Korea's Chungnam-class guided-missile frigate, the export variant of Japan's FFM Mogami-class guided-missile frigate, and Turkey's Istanbul-class guided-missile frigate.

The Chungnam class is the South Korean Navy's latest frigate, designated the Ulsan-class Batch III. Measuring 129 meters in length, 14.8 meters in beam and 38.9 meters in height, with a light displacement of around 3,600 tons, the vessels represent a performance upgrade over the earlier Incheon-class and Daegu-class frigates.

HD Hyundai Heavy handled the detailed design and construction of the lead ship, ROKS Chungnam, while Hanwha Ocean has secured contracts for the fifth and sixth hulls. SK Ocean Plant is building the second through fourth vessels.

The US Navy is looking to foreign shipbuilders, including those in South Korea, to quickly offset shortfalls in its domestic shipbuilding capacity.

The initiative is based on a memorandum President Donald Trump signed on Aug. 13, which allows foreign shipbuilders that have invested in the United States to build up to two of the designated vessel types — surface combatants, roll-on/roll-off ships and consolidated afloat replenishment oil tankers — in their home countries.

The plan envisions rapidly acquiring initial vessels overseas, then bringing foreign shipbuilders' technology and production methods to the United States to revive domestic shipbuilding competitiveness. The approach mirrors one the US used when it pursued a medium-sized icebreaker construction project with Finland in October last year.

The memorandum also includes provisions allowing the president to invoke a national security waiver of the Byrnes-Tollefson Act, which generally prohibits the overseas construction of US Navy vessels.

Among South Korean shipbuilders, Hanwha has drawn particular attention. Trump's memorandum specifies that eligible foreign companies must have built a new shipyard in the United States or acquired ownership or a majority stake in an existing US shipyard. Hanwha's acquisition of Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia means it could meet that condition.

The US Navy's interest in South Korean shipbuilders is also taking concrete form. Following Trump's directive, a delegation led by Richard Breckenridge, the Navy's senior advisor for shipbuilding, visited South Korea late last month and toured Hanwha Ocean, HD Hyundai Heavy and SK Ocean Plant.

Earlier, the US Department of Defense and the Navy had sent requests for information on combat vessels and replenishment ships to South Korean shipbuilders. In May, an inspection team visited SK Ocean Plant's Goseong facility and boarded a Ulsan-class Batch III vessel under construction, examining the ship inside and out.

For the US Navy, procuring frigates from abroad offers a way to quickly fill gaps in its surface warfare fleet. The Navy currently deploys the larger Arleigh Burke-class destroyers for missions that frigates could handle.

Rear Adm. Brian Metcalf said in July that frigates "can be used in less contested waters," adding that "doing so allows destroyers to perform high-intensity missions."

With the US Navy set to complete its assessment of candidate vessels by November, whether the Chungnam-class frigate ultimately leads to an actual US procurement contract is shaping up as a key test of future South Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation.


sjy@heraldcorp.com