Korea-US Naval MRO Forum set for Busan late this month

Big three shipbuilders among expected participants

Industrial tour to showcase South Korea's warship MRO capabilities

MASGA cooperation seen entering new phase

A commemorative cap for MASGA, the Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation project, is displayed at the opening ceremony of the Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center held in Washington in July. [Yonhap]
A commemorative cap for MASGA, the Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation project, is displayed at the opening ceremony of the Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center held in Washington in July. [Yonhap]

US Navy officials and warship maintenance, repair and overhaul companies will visit shipbuilding sites in South Korea later this month, aiming to assess the country's shipbuilding capabilities and share their specific requirements directly with domestic industry.

The Korea Marine Equipment Association (KOMEA) will host the "Korea-US Naval MRO and Support Cooperation Forum" at the Wyndham Grand Hotel in Busan on Oct. 28 and 29, with about 100 senior government and industry officials from both countries expected to attend.

The centerpiece of the event is an industrial tour of domestic shipbuilding facilities by US Navy and MRO company representatives on Oct. 29, giving the American side a firsthand look at South Korea's capacity to service US warships. The day before, companies from both sides will deliver presentations introducing their respective areas of cooperation.

"The goal is for the United States to directly assess the capabilities of South Korea's shipbuilding industry, and for South Korea to gain a concrete understanding of US requirements, so as to invigorate naval MRO cooperation between the two countries," an official involved in organizing the event said.

Major South Korean shipbuilders as well as marine equipment manufacturers based in Busan are expected to take part. On the US side, key companies and shipyards that could award warship MRO contracts to Korean firms will attend.

Whether the two navies will meet directly is also drawing attention. If both sides confirm participation, it would mark the first formal occasion for the two navies to discuss warship MRO cooperation. The last time the two navies met was in November last year, when their respective chiefs of naval operations discussed ways to strengthen cooperation — though that meeting was held as part of a joint maritime exercise schedule and did not focus on warship MRO.

The forum is expected to serve as a catalyst for advancing warship MRO cooperation, the core component of the MASGA initiative. Since the MASGA declaration in early last year, South Korean shipbuilders have consistently participated in US warship MRO tenders and have secured eight contracts. However, as these are government-issued projects, the bulk of the work has so far gone to US-based companies.


klee@heraldcorp.com