June 21, 2025. HD Hyundai recently held a signing ceremony with U.S.-based Tampa Ship LLC, a company within the Edison Chouest Offshore family of affiliated companies (ECO), to establish a strategic and comprehensive collaboration that outlines a multi-faceted alliance to build medium-sized LNG dual-fuel containerships at Tampa Ship, with first deliveries targeted for 2028.
As part of the collaboration, HD Hyundai will provide critical support to Tampa Ship in vessel design, procurement of specialized equipment, and transfer of advanced shipbuilding technology. HD Hyundai will also participate in the fabrication of certain ship blocks and invest in key technical infrastructure to enhance the capability of Tampa Ship.
Tampa Ship, located in Tampa, Florida, has a long legacy in U.S. shipbuilding and is one of five shipyards operated by ECO across the country. Through this initiative, Tampa Ship is positioned to lead the revitalization of U.S. commercial shipbuilding and to help address the shortage of domestically constructed vessels.
The signing ceremony was held on Friday, June 19 and was attended by Choi Hannae, Vice President, Head of Corporate Planning Division at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, and Dino Chouest, Executive Vice President of ECO.
According to Clarksons Research, U.S. yards received orders for only three 3,600 TEU-class containerships between 2022 and 2024. This collaboration between HD Hyundai and Tampa Ship aims to address this gap and re-establish the United States as a competitive force in the global shipbuilding industry.