Expanding Global Markets with Submarine Exports to Canada and Poland... Providing Customized Solutions for Customers
Hanwha Ocean is strengthening global defense cooperation and promoting the expansion of the naval vessel market.
Hanwha Ocean (CEO Kim Hee-chul) signed a strategic partnership agreement on the 28th with the UK’s Babcock International Group to lay the groundwork for expanding entry into the global naval vessel market.
Through this agreement, both companies agreed to prioritize cooperation for the export of submarines to Canada and Poland, strengthen collaboration in other global naval vessel export sectors, and leverage each other's strengths to provide customized solutions for customers.
David Lockwood, Chairman of Babcock International Group (third from the left), and Kim Hee-cheol, President and CEO of Hanwha Ocean (third from the right), are signing a strategic partnership agreement to establish a foothold for expanding entry into the global warship export market. Photo by Hanwha Ocean
David Lockwood, Babcock’s Chief Executive, stated, “Through strategic cooperation with Hanwha Ocean, we will further enhance competitiveness in the Canadian and Polish submarine export markets and local military support projects,” adding, “We will actively cooperate with Hanwha Ocean for international defense exports.”
Kim Hee-chul, CEO of Hanwha Ocean, emphasized, “The synergy expected from the cooperation between Hanwha Ocean, which has competitiveness in naval platform construction, and Babcock, which has outstanding capabilities in global follow-up military support, is significant,” and added, “This strategic partnership will increase the likelihood of securing global naval vessel export projects and provide customers with seamless maintenance services throughout the entire lifecycle of naval vessels, making a substantial contribution to the development of both companies in the defense sector.”
David Lockwood, Babcock’s Chief Executive, visited Korea for the first time since his appointment in 2020 and toured Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje plant. Showing deep interest in Hanwha Ocean’s naval vessel construction and MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) capabilities, Lockwood said, “I look forward to learning and growing together through Hanwha Ocean’s excellent technology and production capacity.”
Accompanying this visit were Sir Nick Hine, former Second Sea Lord of the Royal Navy and CEO of Babcock Marine, and Mark Goldsack, former head of the UK Defence and Security Export (UKDSE) and Babcock’s Head of International Cooperation.
Hanwha Ocean had already signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with Babcock Canada in June last year to promote the Canadian submarine project, and in February this year, it signed a Team Agreement (TA) with Babcock International Group in Poland for global submarine business cooperation.
Babcock won the Polish frigate project in 2022 and is currently constructing vessels locally in Poland, with plans to participate in maintenance in the future. Meanwhile, in Canada, Babcock has been continuously performing maintenance work on four Victoria-class submarines of the Canadian Navy since 2008.
David Lockwood, Chairman of Babcock International Group, and his party visited Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard to tour the submarine construction site and received an explanation from Seungkyun Jeong, Head of Hanwha Ocean's Special Ship Overseas Business Division. Photo by Hanwha Ocean
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