USNS Alan Shepard Support Vessel Enters Overhaul in South Korea Before Rejoining US Pacific Fleet.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries began a scheduled MRO on USNS Alan Shepard (T-AKE-3) after the ship entered Yeompo Pier near Ulsan. The work supports 7th Fleet logistics in the Indo-Pacific and aligns with Hyundai’s plan to expand naval MRO as it pursues a merger with HD Hyundai Mipo.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries confirmed the USNS Alan Shepard’s arrival at Yeompo Pier, Ulsan, on Sept. 30 for a scheduled overhaul covering safety systems, tank servicing, and equipment checks, with delivery planned before year-end. The project is HHI’s first U.S. Navy auxiliary MRO in Korea and comes as the company advances a merger with HD Hyundai Mipo to unlock more docks and berths for overseas naval work.
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In the 7th Fleet area, Alan Shepard supports carriers, large amphibious units, cruisers, and destroyers, by connected replenishment when conditions allow and by vertical replenishment when speed is required or seas are rough. (Picture source: US DoD)

The third unit of the Lewis and Clark class, USNS Alan Shepard, is a dry cargo and ammunition replenishment ship operated by Military Sealift Command. Its dimensions are about 210 meters in length, a beam close to 32 meters, and a displacement approaching 41,000 tons at operating draft. Built by NASSCO to commercial standards with added survivability features, these ships supply carrier strike groups and surface forces with ammunition, stores, spare parts, and limited quantities of fuel, either as shuttle ships from port or as station ships working alongside fleet oilers. The design prioritizes efficiency, reflected in the arrangement of cargo areas and the handling chain.

Below the hull, the class uses an integrated diesel-electric propulsion system. Four Fairbanks Morse/MAN B&W generator sets deliver about 35.7 megawatts through a 6.6 kV network, powering two Alstom propulsion motors mounted in tandem on a single fixed pitch propeller. The design speed is around 20 knots. This electrical margin also serves handling gear and hotel loads, providing flexibility during replenishment at sea.

The class can operate up to two utility helicopters for vertical replenishment, typically MH-60S, with suitable hangars. In practice, vertical replenishment speeds the flow of ordnance and palletized cargo to ships that cannot always come alongside when sea state complicates connected replenishment by lines.

In terms of capacities, the initial fact files indicated dry cargo just under 6,000 long tons and fuel measured in the tens of thousands of barrels for marine diesel oil and JP-5, sufficient to maintain the tempo between meetings with a fleet oiler. The class was designed to work in tandem with oilers, replacing older multiproduct storeships by combining munitions and provisions on a single hull. This pairing changes the logistics equation at sea by reducing the number of connections a carrier group has to schedule during an already busy day.

As auxiliaries, these ships are lightly armed, if at all, and rely on escorts and passive protection. The Lewis and Clark class incorporates degaussing, shock hardening for selected systems, reinforced damage control, and CBRN countermeasures, with weight and space reserved for self-defense systems if required later. In practical terms, resilience aims to reduce vulnerability and ensure the transfer mission is completed before clearing the area, rather than absorbing a missile engagement on its own.

The MRO scope in Ulsan is described as a scheduled overhaul with checks on safety systems, maintenance of tanks, and equipment inspections, with handovers to the customer by the end of 2025. Some industry comments mention November, which aligns with a short docking cycle for auxiliaries when basin work remains limited. In any case, this is not a conversion or a midlife upgrade, but a maintenance stop intended to sustain availability in the Western Pacific and adjacent seas.

Operationally, Alan Shepard’s contribution is direct. It converts time into combat readiness by avoiding the need to divert front-line ships to port. In the 7th Fleet area, it supports carriers, large amphibious units, cruisers, and destroyers, by connected replenishment when conditions allow and by vertical replenishment when speed is required or seas are rough. This dual mode, supported by available electrical power, enables deck teams to accelerate cargo flows during short windows between flight cycles. The ship’s record combines routine replenishments with more unusual drills, indicating that MSC hulls are woven into dense activity periods.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is seeking to merge with its subsidiary HD Hyundai Mipo to pool docks and quays and target more export markets, including the US market. The Alan Shepard contract is presented in Korea as a tangible first step. If the merger proceeds on the announced schedule, the combined capacity could affect future maintenance availability for auxiliaries in Northeast Asia and provide a quick turnaround option when ships on Western Pacific patrols need a technical stop outside Japan. This trajectory matches a period in which Washington and Seoul are deepening industrial cooperation in naval shipbuilding and sustainment, and allied logistics is again a planning priority.