The South Korean government has asked the United States for a shipbuilding-specific visa quota because sending Korean skilled workers to U.S. shipyards is seen as essential to carrying out MASGA, the plan to Make American Shipbuilding Great Again. Given the chronic labor shortage in the U.S. shipbuilding industry and the gap in skill levels compared with Korean workers, there are clear limits to raising production capacity even with heavy spending on shipyard facilities, because the industry lacks the welders, pipefitters and other technical workers that shipbuilding requires. Because it takes three to five years to train a new hire into a skilled worker, the government concluded that Korean technical workers need to support ship construction and the transfer of expertise at U.S. yards. Securing a stable supply of skilled labor, it says, is indispensable if MASGA, a task for both countries, is to produce tangible results.
According to the office of Rep. Heo Sung-moo of the Democratic Party of Korea, the key precondition the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has presented to the U.S. side for carrying out MASGA investment is securing a shipbuilding-specific visa quota. The labor shortage in U.S. shipbuilding is considered the main obstacle to expanding production capacity.
In a report released last year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said all seven major shipbuilders that construct U.S. Navy vessels are struggling to hire and retain skilled workers. The U.S. Department of Defense estimated that 174,000 new workers will be needed over the next decade, including replacements for retirements and departures.
Demand for shipbuilding labor in the U.S. grows larger when commercial vessels are counted alongside warships. In a report published this year, global consulting firm McKinsey estimated that the U.S. maritime industry will need 200,000 to 250,000 additional workers over the next 10 years. About 27% of workers in the U.S. maritime industry are 55 or older, and competition for labor with construction, energy and other industries is intense. That means the industry must fill gaps left by retiring and departing skilled workers as well as hire new ones.
That is why the government is seeking a shipbuilding-specific visa quota separate from the existing E-4 professional visa. The workers U.S. shipyards need are not only professionals in design and research and development but also skilled tradespeople who work on the shop floor in welding, piping and electrical work and can pass their expertise on to local workers. According to the GAO, it takes three to five years for a shipyard trade worker to become fully skilled. Since hiring and training local workers from scratch cannot expand capacity quickly, the government believes a separate visa channel is needed to allow Korean skilled workers into U.S. shipyards.
Korean shipbuilders are already pushing ahead with technology transfer and workforce training in the U.S. Samsung Heavy Industries (010140.KS) is working with U.S.-based Vigor Marine Group to set up a training center to develop local technical workers. The center, to be built in the U.S. Northwest, will use virtual reality and augmented reality training programs developed by Samsung Heavy Industries to train welding and painting workers. Hanwha Ocean (042660.KS) is introducing welding robot technology used at its Geoje shipyard to the Philly Shipyard in the U.S. According to Hanwha Group, artificial intelligence is used in 67% of indoor welding work at the Geoje yard, and the company plans to raise that to 100% by 2030.
The government is also supporting productivity gains and local workforce training at U.S. shipyards. The trade ministry opened a Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation center in Washington in July and is providing productivity consulting and technical training for U.S. shipyards. The center also serves as a local hub linking joint research and development, technology exchanges and direct investment projects between companies in the two countries. The aim is to transfer production technology and operational experience built up by the Korean shipbuilding industry while developing concrete joint projects that strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. yards.
Along with securing skilled labor, the government is spending on productivity improvements through automation. According to materials the trade ministry submitted to Heo's office, a total of 155.7 billion won will go into eight joint Korea-U.S. shipbuilding research and development projects over the next five years, including 120 billion won in state funds and 35.7 billion won from the private sector. Next year's budget proposal includes 33.7 billion won. The plan is to raise U.S. shipyard production capacity by automating manufacturing processes in addition to training workers and transferring technology.
One flagship project is an AI-based pipe fabrication system being developed jointly by Samsung Heavy Industries and U.S. firm Miller. With a total of 27 billion won — 20 billion won in state funds and 7 billion won from the private sector — the project will automate pipe cutting, machining, welding and inspection and build a manufacturing process capable of running unmanned around the clock. Automated painting of large ship blocks, tied to Hanwha's Philly Shipyard, will receive 25.9 billion won (20 billion won in state funds and 5.9 billion won private), and development of autonomous transport technology for ultra-large blocks will receive 23.6 billion won (20 billion won state, 3.6 billion won private). Both projects apply automation to processes where quality and speed can vary with a worker's skill level. Development of an AI-based unmanned surface vessel by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180.KS) and U.S. defense firm Anduril has been allocated 27.1 billion won (20 billion won state, 7.1 billion won private).