U.S. Navy expands repair work at South Korean shipyards
· UPIJune 28 (Asia Today) -- The U.S. Navy has repeatedly requested additional repairs to a support ship undergoing maintenance at a South Korean shipyard, expanding the contract beyond its original scope, industry officials said Sunday.
HJ Shipbuilding & Construction has been working on the USNS Amelia Earhart, a U.S. Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship, at its Yeongdo shipyard in Busan since January.
The company secured the maintenance, repair and overhaul contract in December. The vessel initially was expected to complete the work and leave the shipyard in March.
The project has continued because the U.S. military requested additional repairs after work began, according to HJ Shipbuilding.
The company previously negotiated an extension around March for work that was not included in the original contract. Delivery was then expected by the end of June, but further change orders have made that schedule difficult to meet, industry officials said.
Change orders allow a customer and contractor to revise a contract's work, cost and schedule when additional repairs become necessary.
"While we were performing the work included in the initial contract, the U.S. military continued to ask us to repair other items while the ship was already in the dock," an HJ Shipbuilding official said.
"This is not simply a delay," the official said. "The scope of the contract is expanding as additional work continues to emerge."
Similar changes occurred during Hanwha Ocean's overhaul of the USNS Wally Schirra, another U.S. Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship.
Hanwha Ocean won the contract in August 2024, becoming the first South Korean shipbuilder to perform a large-scale regular overhaul of a U.S. Navy support vessel.
The ship was delivered in March 2025 after a seven-month overhaul, which took longer than initially planned as the U.S. military requested additional work.
"Additional repairs also were requested during the overhaul of the USNS Wally Schirra," a Hanwha Ocean official said.
"When inspections uncover areas requiring further maintenance, it is common in this type of business to adjust both the scope of work and the schedule," the official said.
An HD Hyundai Heavy Industries official said shipyards frequently discover problems that could not have been anticipated before a vessel is taken apart and its internal equipment is inspected.
"When a customer requests additional work, the required labor and workload increase, leading to a change order that revises the price and schedule," the official said.
"Change orders are common in the global ship maintenance market," the official said. "Continued requests for additional repairs can also mean that the customer trusts the shipyard's technical capabilities and quality enough to expand the work."
Additional work can increase revenue for the shipbuilder because the price is renegotiated to reflect the added labor, materials and repair requirements.
The U.S. Navy has increasingly used shipyards in allied countries to improve fleet readiness and reduce the time required to send vessels back to the United States for maintenance.
South Korean shipyards inspect hulls, engines and electrical and electronic equipment after vessels enter dry dock. When previously unidentified defects are found, the shipyards consult with the U.S. military before conducting additional repairs.
Industry officials said successful maintenance work could help South Korean companies win follow-up repair contracts and potentially expand cooperation into naval ship construction.
"From the U.S. military's perspective, completing all necessary repairs while a vessel is already in the dock is much more efficient than docking it again later," an industry official said.
"Assigning additional work also indicates that the customer recognizes the quality of the shipyard's work," the official said.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260629010009834