SEOUL: South Korea’s naval ambitions are facing their most significant overseas test yet as Hanwha Ocean vies for a deal that could be worth up to US$43bil.
The Canadian Patrol Submarine Project aims to acquire up to 12 diesel-electric submarines for the Royal Canadian Navy, operating across the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean-led consortium is up against Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as finalists, with industry officials expecting the decision to be announced soon before mid-July.
The winner will not only build the submarines but also provide decades of maintenance, repair and overhaul services, making it one of the largest defence procurements in Canadian history and the biggest potential overseas defence export for South Korea.
The competition has narrowed to a decision between South Korea’s emphasis on operational readiness and reliable delivery timelines versus Germany’s focus on next-generation submarine technology, experts say.
Hanwha Ocean is putting forward a variant of its KSS-III submarine, with its Dosan Ahn Changho-class vessels already deployed by the South Korean Navy.
TKMS has proposed the Type 212CD submarine jointly developed with Norway, a platform designed to incorporate the latest European submarine technologies.
Hanwha Ocean has been highlighting the KSS-II’s operational record, arguing that Canada would be purchasing a submarine already proven at sea rather than one still awaiting full deployment.
South Korea recently dispatched the Republic of Korea Navy’s 3,000-tonne-class submarine Dosan Ahn Changho to Canada, where it conducted demonstrations and joint exercises with the Royal Canadian Navy.
The voyage from Busan through Guam and Hawaii to Canada’s Esquimalt naval base was designed to prove the vessel’s long-range deployment capability, a critical requirement for a country seeking to monitor the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans simultaneously.
Hanwha Ocean said its vessels are proven in-service and fully meet and exceed all of requirements for the project.
“These include superior underwater surveillance capability and deployability in the Arctic with extended range and endurance that will provide stealth, persistence and lethality to ensure that Canada can detect, track, deter and, if necessary, defeat adversaries in all three of its oceans.”
The latest voyage also showed the submarine’s full capability to operate with key Nato allies such as Canada, it added. — The Korea Herald/ANN
