Samsung Heavy Industries Begins Concept Design for US Next-Generation Replenishment Oiler; MASGA Project Sets Sail

According to The Financial News, Samsung Heavy Industries has joined the design program for the United States Navy’s Next-Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS), a replenishment oiler project it has been strategically preparing for. With this, the Make American Shipbuilding Great Again project (MASGA project), a new chapter in US–Korea shipbuilding cooperation, has effectively begun.
Samsung Heavy Industries announced on the 1st that it will support the concept design for the NGLS project together with General Dynamics NASSCO and DSEC. The work is scheduled to run through March 2027.
The NGLS is a key asset intended to enhance the execution of the United States Navy’s core strategy, Distributed Maritime Operation (DMO). It is a small replenishment oiler with high mobility and mission-tailored operational capability, and more than 13 ships are expected to be built under this strategic program.
Samsung Heavy Industries is expected to play a central role in the high-efficiency hull-form design work, which underpins the overall performance of the ship.
Drawing on the hull-form design technology and know-how it has accumulated using the 400-meter-long large towing tank at the Samsung Heavy Industries Daejeon Daedeok Research Center—the world’s largest commercial facility of its kind—Samsung Heavy Industries will develop a hull that fully meets the United States Navy’s requirements for high mobility, replenishment capability, and stability. It also plans to provide technical support so that the NASSCO shipyard can build the vessels efficiently in the US.
To fully launch its US business, Samsung Heavy Industries has established a US subsidiary and is preparing to bid jointly with Vigor Shipyard for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) contracts. Leveraging its shipbuilding technology and 3X technology, the company expects to achieve results in a wide range of US-focused projects.
Choi Sung-an, vice chairman of Samsung Heavy Industries, has previously stated that the company will apply the world’s first pipe spool automation technology, which went into operation in March, to its US projects as a way to accelerate the growth of the US shipbuilding industry. In addition, by utilizing a jointly established research center with San Diego State University (SDSU), the company is strengthening its technical partnership with NASSCO and exploring practical cooperation measures to help rebuild US shipbuilding in areas such as Artificial intelligence (AI)-based production automation, robotics, and eco-friendly technologies.
Samsung Heavy Industries also plans to expand cooperation to include building a shipbuilding equipment cluster in the US and establishing training centers to cultivate skilled shipyard workers and seafarers, drawing on its shipbuilding technology and soft capabilities.
A Samsung Heavy Industries official said, "Using the NGLS program as a starting point, we will further expand our cooperation with the NASSCO shipyard," adding, "Samsung Heavy Industries will accelerate efforts to deliver tangible results in US projects based on its advanced technologies."
Meanwhile, Samsung Heavy Industries is also steadily progressing its own acquisition of Maintenance and Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) certification, ensuring that its US projects move forward without disruption.
hoya0222@fnnews.com Kim Dong-ho Reporter