Hanwha Ocean ties up with Polish firm for submarine deal

Hanwha Ocean Co., South Korea’s third-largest shipbuilder, has joined hands with Polish state-run defense group Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa S.A. (PGZ) to win an estimated 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) submarine project for the Central European country.

Hanwha Ocean said on Friday it has agreed with PGZ to submit plans for joint maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services to the Polish Navy after an event organized by the South Korean chemicals-to-defense conglomerate Hanwha Group’s shipbuilder for the project.

Poland, which plans to buy three submarines under the Orka program as part of its project to modernize the navy, is predicted to select the top three bidders as early as July and choose a preferred bidder in the first half of 2025, Hanwha Ocean said.

The company formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. aims to sell the Jang Bogo-III class Batch-II, or the KSS III conventionally powered diesel-electric submarine, to Poland that currently operates a single 1980s-era Russian-origin submarine.

Hanwha Ocean plans to team up with major South Korean contractors to sell the Jang Bogo-III, which will be manufactured with 80% local technology and components.

Hanwha Group has already bagged billions of dollars in defense contracts with Poland. Last month, Hanwha Aerospace Co. signed a $1.64 billion deal to supply 72 units of the Chunmoo multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) to Poland.

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, LOCALIZATION

Hanwha Ocean said it plans to contribute to Poland’s industrial development through technology transfer and localization once it wins the project at the shipbuilder’s event in Gdańsk, a port city on the Baltic coast of the country.

The company also pledged to cooperate in handing over some of its submarine maintenance technology and licenses while establishing a support center in the country for the Polish Navy to conduct MRO on its own.

“The Orka project is expected to prime the pump to further strengthen cooperation between Korea and Poland in the economic and industrial sectors, as well as the development of the Navy,” said Jeong Sung Kyun, head of Hanwha Ocean’s naval ship international business.

Hanwha Ocean held the event to promote the business relationships between partners, which supply the core system of the Jang Bogo-III submarine, and Polish companies.

South Korean contractors such as Hanwha Systems Co., Hyosung Heavy Industries Corp., KTE Co. and Kolon DACC Composite Co., as well as global submarine parts makers, including Babcock International Group plc and Gabler Naval Technology, participated in the event.

PGZ and 11 other Polish companies joined them.

Write to Hyeon-woo Oh at ohw@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.