SEOUL, July 24 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a major South Korean shipbuilder, said Friday it will pursue broad cooperation with the U.S. shipbuilding industry as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The company made the announcement as South Korea and the United States launched a shipbuilding cooperation center in Washington to facilitate a planned US$150 billion investment in the U.S. shipbuilding sector under a bilateral trade and investment deal reached last year.

Senior officials and industry leaders from the two countries took part in the event on Thursday (local time) marking the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC), a platform to advance the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA)" initiative aimed at revitalizing America's shipbuilding industry.

"The opening ceremony today marks a new milestone for the Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project," Samsung Heavy Industries CEO Choi Sung-an said during the event. "We will do our best to usher in a renaissance for the shipbuilding and marine industries of both countries, leveraging Samsung Heavy Industries' technological capabilities."

Samsung Heavy Industries and Conrad Shipyard obtained approval in principle from the American Bureau of Shipping for the basic design of a 12,000-cubic-meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel they are jointly developing.

The approval marks the latest achievement since the two companies established a partnership in December to jointly build LNG bunkering vessels, Samsung Heavy Industries said.

Samsung Heavy Industries also signed a strategic business cooperation agreement with Saronic Technologies, a U.S. startup specializing in the design and manufacturing of autonomous surface vessels.

In addition, the South Korean shipbuilder inked an agreement with Vigor Marine Group, its U.S. maintenance, repair and overhaul partner, to set up a training center in the northwestern U.S.

The center will help secure welders and painters essential for shipbuilding and repairs and will utilize Samsung Heavy Industries' expertise and technologies, the company said.

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