August 27, 2025

Vigor Marine Group

Vigor Marine Group has announced a strategic partnership with South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI). The collaboration will expand maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capacity to the Indo-Pacific region, offering the U.S. Navy and Military Sealift Command (MSC) a new option to keep vessels mission-ready. In addition, the two companies may explore opportunities to support a U.S. shipbuilding renaissance, including a return to Vigor's shipbuilding roots in the Pacific Northwest.

The U.S. Navy has been actively seeking partners capable of executing forward repair to increase the availability of its fleet. Together, this partnership will combine Vigor's customer relationships and ability to deliver complex projects on time and on budget with SHI's world-class Korean shipyard facilities, skilled workforce and advanced technology leadership. The result is a new forward repair solution designed to add high-quality repair capacity and operational agility, with Vigor Marine Group as the lead U.S.-based prime contractor.

“At Vigor Marine Group, our primary focus is on providing solutions to our customers,” said Francesco Valente, president and CEO of Vigor Marine Group. “We understand the Navy's evolving needs and have built a track record of delivering results in support of our national defense. Partnering with Samsung allows us to extend that same capability to forward-deployed operations in the Indo-Pacific and potential shipbuilding opportunities here in the U.S. — helping the Navy increase its operational tempo while maintaining the highest quality standards.”

With operations in five locations, Vigor's family of companies employs 2,500 people in the Pacific Northwest, California and Virginia.