Dare we say 2026 might turn out to be the year of startup-legacy maritime partnerships?
Yesterday, unmanned maritime darling Saronic announced that it’s teaming up with Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) to “accelerate the development of autonomy-capable maritime systems and technologies to strengthen America’s shipbuilding industrial base.”
Together, the two companies will work on “autonomy and AI-powered solutions,” and integrate robotics and automated production processes across Saronic’s shipyards. The announcement comes just a week after the company announced that it had picked Brownsville, TX, as the site for its Port Alpha shipyard-of-the-future, where it plans to build vessels up to 850-feet long.
“Rebuilding America’s maritime strength requires both world-class technology and the industrial muscle to produce it at scale here at home,” said Dino Mavrookas, Co-Founder and CEO of Saronic. “We are proud to partner with SHI, bringing together Saronic’s maritime autonomy and next-generation manufacturing with Samsung’s storied shipbuilding and technology pedigree.”
Guess it makes sense to bring in the big guns when you’re planning to build some BFBs (big f*cking boats).
Just keep swimming: We’ve covered Saronic a bunch lately, so let’s switch it up and start with SHI.
The Korean giant is an interesting one—unlike competitors like Hanwha Ocean or HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, their presence in the US has historically been pretty limited. Instead of outright owning major American shipyards, the company has mostly participated in the U.S. market through offshore energy projects, engineering work, and technology partnerships.
In the past couple of years, however, with the rise in demand for US shipbuilding, that has started to change.
The company has brought production expertise to US producers through partnerships, including with:
- Vigor Marine Group: A partnership covering maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), shipyard modernization, and workforce development for U.S. maritime programs.
- DSEC: A strategic partnership focused on ship design, procurement, shipyard modernization, LNG cargo systems, retrofits, and digital shipbuilding for U.S. customers.
- General Dynamics NASSCO: Cooperation on next-generation logistics ships and technology transfer.
- Conrad Shipyard (Louisiana/Texas): Agreement on joint development and construction of LNG bunkering vessels for the U.S. market. Worth noting that a big part of their growth has been linked to an increase in US LNG exports.
This year, it also opened a research center in California—the SHI–San Diego State University Advanced Maritime (SSAM) Center.
Holding hands: While details on the new partnership are somewhat scant, it sounds like through this Saronic partnership they’re bringing over 50 years of maritime muscle to Saronic’s “be the future of maritime” ambitions.
- SHI provides “decades of experience in cutting-edge, high-volume shipbuilding and vessel design,” per Saronic.
- Saronic, meanwhile, will contribute its “operationally proven expertise in autonomous systems and scalable manufacturing.”
- The two companies will “explore opportunities to accelerate the development and production of next-generation maritime platforms.”
- Importantly, the partnership will be focused on both commercial and defense applications—just like Port Alpha.
“By combining Saronic’s expertise in maritime autonomy with our expertise in shipbuilding, including production automation, we look forward to working together to create a more competitive future,” Sung An Choi, vice chairman and CEO of Samsung Heavy Industries, said in a statement.