A South Korean attack boat arrived Sunday at Canada’s Pacific Fleet naval base ahead of Ottawa’s procurement decision for its next class of submarines.
The Republic of Korea Navy’s ROKS Dosan Ahn Chang-ho (SS-083) over the weekend pulled into Victoria, Canada, concluding the longest voyage of a South Korean submarine in history. Since leaving in March from its homeport at Busan the KSS-III-class attack boat has traveled 14,000 kilometers – nearly 8,700 miles – across the Pacific.
“The success of the first Korean submarine crossing the Pacific Ocean is strong evidence of the superior performance and world-class technical capability of our domestic submarine in successfully carrying out long-term missions even in the rough ocean environment,” Capt. Lee Byung-il, commander of Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, said in a ROKN news release.
Port stops for replenishment and personnel transfer were held at American naval facilities in Guam and Hawaii, where two Royal Canadian Navy officers boarded the vessel to observe operations. The Korean attack boat also communicated with Canadian forces with its command and control systems during the last leg of its trip, according to the ROKN.
Seoul’s milestone naval deployment is in support of its fight to secure a bid for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Program. The service wants to replace its four aging attack boats by the 2030s. This program looks to increase Canada’s submarine force with up to 12 attack boats through a program worth $20-$40 billion.
The Canadian government has narrowed down its choices between South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean’s KSS-III and Germany’s Thyssen-Krupp Marine Systems’ Type 212CD. Both shipbuilders have made pledges to establish facilities in Canada to enable domestic production, maintenance and jobs within their bids. Ottawa expects to announce their decision for the program next month.
Dosan Ahn Chang-ho arrived at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt with the frigate ROKS Daejeon (FFG-823), another South Korean-designed and built vessel. Following training and goodwill activities in Canada, the attack boat will join the U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific drills around Hawaii on its voyage home.
Originally designed for South Korea’s mass punishment and retaliation strategy against Pyongyang in the event of a conflict, the KSS-III design is now one of Seoul’s most advertised defense products on the global stage.
South Korea’s global submarine export ambitions are also matched by those at home, including the recent announcement that the East Asian country will pursue the domestic construction of nuclear attack boats. Seoul claims that Pyongyang’s efforts to develop at-sea nuclear delivery platforms influenced the procurement decision, USNI News reported.
