Fraser and HD Hyundai eye Superior shipyard for modernization

By ADAM KELNHOFER

Special to The Daily Reporter

Superior-based shipbuilder Fraser Industries would become a “demonstration model” for rebuilding the U.S. shipbuilding industries under an agreement with HD Hyundai.

Fraser and Hyundai on July 27 signed a memorandum of understanding to move forward with an agreement to modernize the northern Wisconsin shipbuilder’s infrastructure as part of an effort to revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding industry, according to a press release. The announcement comes after President Donald Trump in February released America’s Maritime Action Plan, which calls for rebuilding domestic shipbuilding.

Fraser CEO Patrick Kelly called the agreement with Hyundai, South Korea’s largest shipbuilder, “an important starting point for the revitalization of the U.S. shipbuilding industry.”

The announcement doesn’t specify how long the project would take, or what exactly would be upgraded at the 100-acre facility on the shores of Lake Superior, but it does note the two companies would cooperate from shipyard construction to operation.

Fraser and Hyundai would collaborate on shipyard diagnosis and solution derivation, yard and plant layout design, introduction of robots and automation equipment, optimization of cost, process quality and productivity, application of AI- and data-based digital solutions, and supply-chain expansion and technical-workforce development.

The agreement also seeks to make Fraser Shipyards, which maintains the largest ship on the Great Lakes, the 1,013.5-foot-long M/V Paul R. Tregurtha, a “demonstration model” for rebuilding the domestic shipbuilding industry.

The news comes days after the House of Representatives approved the latest National Defense Authorization Act, which included amendments to create a $20 billion Maritime Security Trust Fund for merchant marine and maritime industrial base programs.

Fraser in April joined Fincantieri Marine Group and Donjon Marine to form the Fourth Coast Shipbuilding Alliance, and all three will be working together to compete for a contract to build the U.S. Coast Guard’s new Light Icebreaker.