HD Hyundai partners with Edison Chouest to build containerships in the US

South Korean shipbuilding conglomerate HD Hyundai Co. Ltd. announced it is partnering with Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), Cut Off, La., to construct large, oceangoing vessels in the U.S., in a move aligned with growing U.S. efforts to revive its domestic shipbuilding capabilities.

The agreement, signed at ECO’s headquarters on June 20, will see HD Hyundai provide design support, equipment procurement, construction technology, and partial ship block manufacturing, for shipbuilding projects at Tampa Ship, Tampa, Fla., one of ECO's five U.S. shipyards. The partners plan to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel containerships by 2028.

“The United States is a strong ally and an important business partner for us,” an official from HD Hyundai said in a statement. “Through our collaboration with ECO, we aim to actively support U.S. efforts to revitalize its shipbuilding industry and strengthen national security.”

The companies plan to gradually expand their partnership to include additional areas such as icebreakers, naval vessels, and cranes, HD Hyundai said.

The partnership comes as the U.S. federal government intensifies its push to rebuild domestic shipbuilding under a growing bipartisan policy consensus. In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at reviving U.S. shipbuilding and reducing China's grip on the global shipping industry. Later that month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act, and its companion bill, the Building SHIPS in America Act, calling for regulatory reform, expanded cargo preference, workforce development, and tax incentives to spur ship construction and expand the U.S. merchant fleet.

ECO, which runs five U.S. shipyards and operates a fleet of 300 offshore support vessels, has positioned itself as a central player in this policy shift. In May, it formed the United Shipbuilding Alliance (USA) with Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La., the largest privately owned shipbuilder in the U.S., to expedite ship design, construction, and delivery.

The deal between HD Hyundai and ECO responds to industry data showing a lag in U.S. commercial shipbuilding. The U.S. has constructed less than 1% of commercial ships globally, while China has built about half, an increase from just 5% in 1999, according to the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies. From 2022 to 2024, only three 3,600 TEU-class containerships were ordered by U.S. shipping companies, according to analysts Clarkson Research.

Several leading shipbuilders from allied nations are expanding their presence in the U.S., including South Korea's Hanwha, which acquired Philly Shipyard, Philadelphia, in 2024, and Canada's Davie, which is acquiring shipyards in Texas to construct icebreaking vessels.

HD Hyundai’s growing U.S. footprint includes recent agreements with the U.S.' laregest naval shipbuilder, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Newport News, Va., and key defense contractor Fairbanks Morse Defense, Beloit, Wis., as well as academic partnerships with the University of Michigan and Seoul National University to cultivate a new generation of naval architects and marine engineers.

“We will support the U.S. — our close ally and strategic partner — in its shipbuilding revitalization and national security enhancement,” the company said.