Splash247: Samsung Heavy opens research hub in San Diego

In South Korea’s ongoing cosying up to American shipbuilding aspirations, Samsung Heavy Industries and San Diego State University (SDSU) have launched the SSAM Center (SHI‑SDSU Advanced Maritime Center), the Korean yard’s s first US research hub.

The inauguration in San Diego – home to US west coast shipyard NASSCO – brings Samsung Heavy’s expertise together with SDSU engineering strengths in AI, autonomous systems, wireless communications, advanced manufacturing and energy systems.

The SSAM Center will build a technology cooperation framework with SDSU and NASSCO, pursue joint research projects, and support local talent pipelines while exploring AI‑based production automation, robotics and eco‑friendly ship technologies. 

Samsung Heavy COO Wang‑keun Lee said: “The establishment of the joint research centre in the United States marks the starting point for fully implementing MASGA [Make American Shipbuilding Great Again].”

The SSAM Center links a major global yard with an academically strong regional ecosystem and the largest nearby shipbuilder, creating practical R&D and training pathways. 

Other Korean shipyard majors are pursuing similar inroads into the American shipyard scene, amid the current Trump administration’s keen overtures to resuscitate American shipbuilding.