S. Korean sub to make trans-Pacific journey for joint drills with Canada amid major bid

▲ This file photo, provided by the Navy on Jan. 5, 2024, shows the 3,000-ton class ROKS Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

S Korea-Canada-naval drills

S. Korean sub to make trans-Pacific journey for joint drills with Canada amid major bid

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- A 3,000-ton South Korean naval submarine will travel across the Pacific for the first time to take part in joint drills with Canada in June, aimed at bolstering maritime security and arms industry cooperation, the Navy said Wednesday.

The planned 14,000-kilometer journey by the ROKS Dosan Ahn Chang-ho comes as a South Korean consortium is vying with Germany's Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems to win a landmark contract to supply 12 naval submarines to the Canadian navy.

The submarine is set to travel from Jinhae to Victoria in western Canada to participate in the combined drills scheduled for June. It will make stops in Guam and Hawaii for replenishment, with two Canadian submariners set to join South Korean crew members for the final leg of the trip from Hawaii to Victoria.

When completed, it will mark the longest distance a South Korean submarine has traveled.

Following the joint drills, the submarine will also participate in the U.S.-led multinational Rim of the Pacific exercise in Hawaii in late June before returning home.

To mark the departure, the Navy was set to hold a ceremony Wednesday at the Submarine Force Command at a major naval base in Jinhae, some 310 km southeast of Seoul, attended by key officials, including the vice naval chief and the chief of the state arms procurement agency, according to the Navy.

Also set to attend the event were foreign dignitaries, including Canadian Ambassador to South Korea Philippe Lafortune and British Ambassador to South Korea Colin Crooks, it said.

South Korea has been ramping up efforts to win the major submarine bid, valued at around 60 trillion won (US$40 billion).

Last month, relevant government ministries, including the defense, foreign and industrial ministries, as well as the Navy, and defense firms Hanwha Ocean Co. and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., signed an official document confirming government support for the bid.

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