South Korea’s largest shipbuilders announced a series of US partnerships on Thursday covering naval vessels, LNG bunkering ships, smart shipyards and workforce training, as Washington opened the operational center for its $150bn shipbuilding alliance with Seoul.

The Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Center opened in Washington on Thursday as the headquarters for the Make American Shipbuilding Great Again, or MASGA, programme. The center is intended to coordinate industrial cooperation between the two countries across shipbuilding, technology development and related supply chains.

More than 30 shipbuilders, defence companies, technology groups, universities and research organisations signed 15 agreements. The projects span shipyard modernisation, supply-chain development, workforce training and joint technology programmes, reflecting a broader push to connect Korean shipbuilding expertise with US efforts to expand domestic maritime industrial capacity.

US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration would assess the initiative by tangible industrial output rather than by announcements or memoranda of understanding.

“We are going to judge the centre by the capital you deploy, the facilities you modernise, the workers you train, the supply chains you establish, and ultimately the simple number of how many domestically produced ships we make together,” Lutnick said.

Lutnick also said the Commerce Department would help address regulatory obstacles facing Korean companies as they build operations in the US.

Hanwha Ocean signed a professional services contract with Leidos Gibbs & Cox to jointly design a global fast sealift vessel. The dual-use vessel is designed to carry commercial cargo in peacetime and rapidly transport military equipment during emergencies.

Hanwha also signed separate agreements focused on US shipbuilding workforce training and the creation of domestic supply chains.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering signed a definitive contract with Siemens Digital Industries Software for a next-generation marine platform. The system will connect ship design, production, procurement, quality control and maintenance through a shared 3D data environment.

The group plans to use the platform to develop virtual shipyards and physical AI facilities, with robots and autonomous equipment taking on a larger share of production work. Those projects put digital design, automation and skilled-labour training at the centre of the alliance, areas that can affect how quickly yards move from engineering plans to production.

HD Hyundai Samho separately won a contract to supply four port cranes to Washington United Terminals at the Port of Tacoma.

Samsung Heavy Industries and Conrad Shipyard received approval in principle from ABS for a jointly developed 12,000 cu m LNG bunkering vessel targeting the US market.

Samsung Heavy also signed an agreement with autonomous vessel developer Saronic Technologies to cooperate on unmanned surface vessels, autonomous navigation, AI systems and robotic shipyard automation.

Another agreement with Vigor Marine Group will establish a training center for welders and painters. Samsung Heavy will also work with US universities on virtual training systems for shipyard workers.

South Korean industry minister Kim Jung-kwan said Korean companies would build naval vessels and LNG carriers in America.

The two governments also launched a Won120bn ($80m), five-year research programme covering eight areas, including AI-assisted design, autonomous welding, heavy-block transportation, yard automation and autonomous navigation.

“Innovation succeeds when research, industry insight and practical application come together. By bringing together world-class partners across research and technology, this initiative creates a strong foundation for collaboration that can support safer, smarter shipbuilding in both countries,” said John McDonald, ABS chairman and CEO.