The Shin Chae-ho, a 3,000-ton diesel submarine built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., is seen in this photo provided by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
ULSAN, Apr. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. on Thursday delivered a 3,000-ton diesel submarine to the Navy, which will serve as a key asset to deter threats posed by North Korea.
The submarine, named after famous Korean independence activist Shin Chae-ho (1880-1936), was delivered to the Navy at HD Hyundai Heavy’s shipyard in Ulsan, 299 kilometers southeast of Seoul, during a ceremony.
It is the third and final submarine of the KSS III Batch 1 following the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho and Ahn Moo, which were built by its local rival Hanwha Ocean, formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
South Korea is one of eight countries capable of building 3,000-ton submarines with indigenous technology, along with the United States, Britain, France, Japan, India, Russia and China.
Shin Chae-ho is capable of carrying six vertical launch tubes for submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), which are designed to eliminate key North Korean nuclear and missile targets if there are clear signs of intended use.
The 83.5-meter-long, 9.6-meter-wide submarine can accommodate up to around 50 crewmembers and sail at a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 kph).
It features an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system that enables the submarine to operate under the sea for weeks without snorkeling.
The Navy plans to deploy the submarine after 8 months of operational tests, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said.
On Thursday, military and government officials from nine countries, including Canada, Poland, Australia, the Philippines, the United States, Britain, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, attended the delivery ceremony.
HD Hyundai Heavy and Hanwha Ocean have been pitching offers to build submarines for Canada, Poland and the Philippines, which are expected to replace their old fleets of submarines.
Hanwha Ocean exported submarines to Indonesia in 2011, making South Korea the fifth submarine exporter and the first Asian country to tap into the market.
(Yonhap)
