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By Jeong-il Kwak, BetaNews — Hanwha Ocean is accelerating its push into the global maritime defense market by partnering with a leading U.S. naval ship-design firm.
Hanwha Ocean said April 22 that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gibbs & Cox on April 21 at the Sea-Air-Space 2026 (SAS 2026) defense expo in Maryland. The agreement is intended to strengthen shipbuilding capabilities for the U.S. and allied navies.
Gibbs & Cox, a Leidos company, holds a dominant position in ship design — it has designed more than 70% of U.S. Navy surface ships since World War II.
Under the MOU, the partners will pursue ship designs optimized to U.S. Navy specifications, jointly develop next-generation vessels for the global market, and build supply chains that leverage production facilities in both the U.S. and South Korea.
Combining Hanwha Ocean’s shipbuilding capacity with Gibbs & Cox’s design and engineering expertise is expected to improve competitiveness on U.S. Navy programs and across the global warship market.
Sources say the two companies could also collaborate on producing special-purpose vessels, including warships, at Hanwha Group’s U.S. shipbuilding hub, Hanwha Philly Shipyard.
Eo Seong-chul, president and head of Hanwha Ocean’s special-vessels division, said the MOU will give the company a technological edge in both the U.S. and global warship markets and that the partnership with Leidos will deliver tangible results.
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