Dikhyaa Mohanty 
As part of a newly agreed-upon large-scale investment initiative in the US shipbuilding industry, major South Korean shipbuilders have formed a joint task force to assist the government’s collaboration with the US, authorities said on Sunday. According to business officials, the Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Association and the major three shipbuilders, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Hanwha Ocean Co., and Samsung Heavy Industries Co., established the TF and recently conducted its first meeting.
Supporting the “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” (MASGA) project, which aims to spend $150 billion in the US shipbuilding sector, will be their main priority. According to Yonhap news agency, it was a component of a larger $350 billion investment package in the US in return for Washington reducing reciprocal tariffs on South Korean imports from their original 25% to 15%.
“There will be various ways to implement the Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation, and the TF aims to support and facilitate those efforts,” an official said. “The industry is working together with the government for the MASGA project through this task force.”
The envisioned investment represents the largest single-industry fund in the package and is structured primarily to support Korean shipbuilders’ investments in the US through public finance. The MASGA project includes plans to build new shipyards in the US, train shipbuilding personnel and rebuild related supply chains, as well as build American ships and cooperate on maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) projects, according to the Seoul government. But details are still being finalised. The entity plans to intensify discussions on the project starting in mid-August, following the industry’s summer vacation period.
