Hanwha outlined plans to expand its role in U.S. naval shipbuilding as Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao visited Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Cao met executives from Hanwha Defense USA during the visit, with discussions covering planned investment in the facility, workforce expansion and the company’s plans to build more ships for the U.S. Navy.
The visit follows Hanwha’s acquisition of the former Philly Shipyard in late 2024. Since the acquisition, the South Korean company has positioned the Philadelphia facility as part of its effort to compete for U.S. government and naval shipbuilding work.
Michael Coulter, CEO of Hanwha Defense USA, said the company wants to use the yard’s naval construction history as it seeks to support additional U.S. Navy fleet capacity.
The shipyard is currently completing the U.S. Maritime Administration’s five-vessel National Security Multi-Mission Vessel program. Four vessels have been delivered, while the fifth is scheduled for delivery next year.
The lead vessel, Empire State, was activated by MARAD this month for a federal mission supporting the U.S. Navy in the Indo-Pacific.
Hanwha said the workforce at Hanwha Philly Shipyard has more than doubled since 2024 to nearly 2,500 employees as the company invests in training and expands production capacity.
The yard also has a commercial backlog extending through at least 2029. Orders include three LNG-powered containerships for Matson, two LNG carriers for Hanwha Shipping and four firm MR tankers, along with options for another six vessels.
Hanwha Philly Shipyard has also begun adding defense-related work. In July, the yard and TOTE Services were selected to build the Missile Defense Agency’s next-generation Missile Range Instrumentation Vessels.
The program includes the future Golden Defender, which is scheduled for delivery in 2030 and will support the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative.
Separately, Hanwha has made a preliminary offer valued at up to $1.2 billion to acquire Austal USA, a U.S. shipbuilder involved in Navy and Coast Guard programs.
The Trump administration is seeking ways to increase U.S. naval shipbuilding capacity while attracting foreign shipbuilding investment and expertise into the domestic industrial base.
A presidential memorandum issued in August established a pathway for foreign shipbuilders to initially construct certain vessels overseas before shifting production to the United States. The arrangement requires investment in U.S. facilities, training for American workers and the transfer of shipbuilding technology.
Hanwha Philly Shipyard occupies 115 acres at the meeting point of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers within the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The shipyard said it has built roughly half of all large oceangoing Jones Act vessels delivered in the United States since 2000 and operates two of the largest graving docks on the East Coast.
Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware also joined Cao during the visit. Coons said building more Navy ships at the Philadelphia yard would have a major impact on the region and help the United States keep pace with China’s expanding shipbuilding efforts.
