HD Hyundai mulls buying U.S. shipyard following deal with Huntington Ingalls

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HD Hyundai mulls buying U.S. shipyard following deal with Huntington Ingalls

Published: 27 Oct. 2025, 17:47 Updated: 27 Oct. 2025, 18:29

LEE JAE-LIM
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun delivers a keynote speech at the Future Tech Forum under the theme of “Shaping the Future of Shipbuilding” on Oct. 27, held as part of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang. [HD HYUNDAI]

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang — HD Hyundai is weighing the acquisition of a U.S. shipyard as part of its broader push into the U.S. maritime industry, Chairman Chung Ki-sun said Monday.

“We are reviewing multiple options, including a possible shipyard purchase, among a series of announcements to come following our memorandum of agreement with Huntington Ingalls Industries on Sunday,” Chung told reporters on the sidelines of the Future Tech Forum held at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang.

The Korean shipbuilder and Huntington Ingalls said Sunday that they will jointly design and build the U.S. Navy’s next-generation fleet of auxiliary ships, while expanding their partnership to encompass a wide range of naval and commercial vessels. The deal also includes plans for joint investment and the establishment of shipbuilding facilities in the United States.

Several reports have suggested that U.S. President Donald Trump may visit Korean shipyards, including HD Hyundai’s Ulsan complex and Hanwha Ocean’s Okpo yard, during his trip to Korea for the APEC summit. Chung said Trump’s visit has yet to be confirmed but added that the company is “ready whenever the opportunity comes.”

The partnership marks the start of HD Hyundai’s broader strategy to expand its presence in the U.S. maritime sector. The company is collaborating with U.S. defense contractors, commercial shipbuilders and tech firms on projects ranging from AI-powered smart shipyards to sustainable ship designs and humanoid robotics aimed at offsetting labor shortages.

“We are fully ready to be a facilitating partner in this American Naval Renaissance, working closely with leading innovators in this transformative endeavor,” Chung said in his keynote address at the Future Tech Forum, themed “Shaping the Future of Shipbuilding.” The event drew more than 600 participants from the industry, academia, governments and militaries.

“For all of these exciting possibilities to come true, we’ll need much closer collaboration across industry boundaries — a truly global alliance of innovation," he added.

Beyond its partnership with Huntington Ingalls, HD Hyundai is working with Anduril Industries to develop unmanned surface vessels for both the Korean and U.S. navies. To bolster its Korean operations, Anduril established a local subsidiary in August.

Under the collaboration, HD Hyundai will focus on ship control autonomy — including collision avoidance, navigation, damage mitigation and engine monitoring — while Anduril will handle mission autonomy such as fleet coordination, threat detection and tactical decision-making. Together, they aim to build warships capable of not only navigating but also planning and executing missions autonomously.

From left, Kim Hyung-taek, HD Hyundai’s senior vice president and head of the Naval Ship Research Institute; Patrick Tyan, chief technology officer at the American Bureau of Shipping; Nicolaus Radford, chief executive officer of Persona AI; Eric D. Chewning, executive vice president of Huntington Ingalls Industries; HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun; John Kim, Anduril Industries Korea’s vice president; and Lee Jung-min, head of HD Hyundai’s AI strategy team, pose for the photo for the Future Tech Forum on shipbuilding on Oct. 27 held as part of APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang. [HD HYUNDAI]

The American Bureau of Shipping will collaborate with HD Hyundai to develop global safety and classification standards for AI-driven systems and autonomous vessels to ensure legal deployment.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Siemens will support HD Hyundai’s smart shipyard vision through its digital twin technology, integrating design, simulation, production and life cycle data. The digital thread platform, Siemens Chief Technology Officer Joe Bohman said, could shorten shipbuilding cycles by up to 30 percent while embedding AI tools to automate engineering revisions, production planning and quality control.

In robotics, U.S.-based Persona AI aims to deploy humanoid welding robots at HD Hyundai’s shipyards by 2027. Trained through motion capture for natural movement, the robots operate with AI-based learning algorithms and dexterous robotic hands licensed from NASA. HD Hyundai’s shipyards will serve as testbeds to validate the technology and provide real-world training data for further development.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]