HJ Shipbuilding & Construction said expectations for South Korea’s naval shipbuilding and repair sector are rising as U.S.–Korea cooperation deepens and new policy frameworks take shape in Washington.

The company cited the Trump administration’s approval of the MASGA bilateral cooperation initiative and the U.S. Navy’s “Golden Fleet” plan, designed to respond to China’s growing naval power, as factors supporting demand for overseas maintenance capacity. It also pointed to the U.S. Defense Department’s Regional Sustainment Framework (RSF), which seeks to improve efficiency and shorten turnaround times by shifting some work from U.S. yards to allied shipyards in the Indo-Pacific.

Against this backdrop, HJ Shipbuilding has launched its first maintenance, overhaul, and repair (MRO) project for the U.S. Navy. The yard estimates the global naval MRO market at about 79 trillion won per year, with the U.S. Navy accounting for roughly 20 trillion won of that total, and sees the new contract as an entry point into this business.

The South Korean builder secured the MRO order in December from the U.S. Navy Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP). With this award, HJ Shipbuilding becomes the third Korean shipyard, after Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, to carry out MRO work for U.S. naval assets. The vessel involved in the latest deal is operated under the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command.

The arrival of the roughly 40,000-tonne U.S. Navy logistics support vessel USNS Amelia Earhart at HJ Shipbuilding’s Yeongdo shipyard in Busan marks the operational start of the programme. The company said Monday that the ship reached the yard on 7 January to undergo scheduled work under the contract.

According to HJ Shipbuilding, the USNS Amelia Earhart is 210 m long and 32 m wide. The ship can deliver up to 6,000 tonnes of ammunition, provisions, and dry cargo, along with about 2,400 tonnes of fuel, to major U.S. Navy units, including combatants.

The yard plans to ramp up into full-scale work this month, carrying out inspections and maintenance on the vessel’s equipment and onboard systems. HJ Shipbuilding aims to redeliver the ship to the U.S. Navy in March once the agreed scope is completed.

Looking beyond this single contract, HJ Shipbuilding said it intends to use the USNS Amelia Earhart project as a stepping stone toward a Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) with the U.S. Navy. Securing an MSRA would enable the company to extend its MRO activities beyond logistics support for ships to a wider range of naval platforms, including combat ships and frigates.