USNS Wally Schirra , seen here arriving at Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard on 2 September 2024. (Hanwha Ocean)
A Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo and ammunition ship has sailed into a shipyard operated by Hanwha Ocean, marking the first overhaul work to be carried out by a South Korean shipyard on a US Navy (USN) ship.
The vessel, USNS Wally Schirra, sailed into Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard on 2 September, the company disclosed in a statement issued on the next day. Work that will be carried out on the vessel is regular in nature, Hanwha Ocean added.
Wally Schirra displaces about 41,000 tonnes and it has an overall length of about 210 m and an overall beam of about 32 m.
It arrived at Hanwha Ocean five days after the company announced it has been awarded a contract to carry out maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) works on a USN ship.
Hanwha Ocean made no mention of the ship that it will be working on in this statement, which was issued on 29 August.
This contract was secured after Hanwha Ocean obtained a Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) from the USN. This certification was obtained after a USN-led evaluation process.
Only MSRA-certified companies can participate in USN maintenance projects.
Wally Schirra is scheduled to undergo its overhaul programme at Geoje shipyard for approximately three months before being handed over to the USN.
For more information on Wally Schirra, please seeLewis and Clark (AKE 1) class (DRY CARGO/AMMUNITION SHIPS) (AKEH) .
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