[2025 MADEX] Hanwha Ocean Targets Both Shipbuilding and MRO Markets

Promoting Eight Types of Vessels Including Unmanned, Surface, and Submarine Ships
Geoje Plant No. 4 to Handle Global Orders with Ease

Hanwha Group will operate an integrated pavilion at the International Maritime Defense Industry Exhibition (MADEX), which opens at BEXCO in Busan on May 28. The three defense affiliates of Hanwha?Hanwha Ocean, Hanwha Aerospace, and Hanwha Systems?will come together to showcase their defense synergy, allowing the public to see it firsthand.

Yonhap News

Hanwha Group's main exhibits at this event are a total of eight vessels, including two types of unmanned vessels, three surface vessels, and three submarines.

In the unmanned vessel category, the company will display a combat unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) and an unmanned power command and control vessel. For surface vessels, Hanwha will present the Korean advanced destroyer KDDX, the latest Ulsan-class frigate Batch-IV, and a frigate model for export to Thailand. In the submarine category, models targeting overseas markets will be showcased, including 2,000-ton, 2,800-ton, and 3,600-ton classes. The 3,600-ton submarine is the world's first to be equipped with both an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system and lithium-ion batteries, boasting the longest underwater endurance among existing diesel submarines.

Highlighting KDX Series Construction Capabilities to Promote KDDX

Surface vessels are also a major export driver for Korea's defense industry. Hanwha Ocean has established itself as the core of Korea's maritime defense sector, leveraging over 40 years of accumulated technology and achievements in the special ship field. In the surface vessel sector, Hanwha Ocean has been a key player in modernizing the Korean Navy. It is the only company to have carried out all KDX-I, II, and III projects, starting with Korea's first domestically built destroyer KDX-I "Gwanggaeto the Great," followed by the stealth-designed KDX-II "Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin," and the KDX-III "Yulgok Yi I," an Aegis destroyer with world-class combat systems.

The core technology being showcased at this exhibition is the "smart bridge." The aim is to enable all pilothouse operations with a minimum crew. The smart bridge maximizes efficiency, safety, and convenience of bridge operations through ergonomic design. This technology is already being applied to the conceptual design of the Navy's training ship (ATX-II).

Actively Promoting Korea's Only Submarine Export Company

Hanwha Ocean's status in the submarine sector is unrivaled. Out of the 24 submarines ordered by Korea, Hanwha Ocean has directly built 17, including nine Jangbogo-I, three Jangbogo-II, two Jangbogo-III Batch-I, and three Batch-II submarines. With the development of the 3,000-ton Jangbogo-III submarine, Korea became the eighth country in the world to independently design and build a mid-sized submarine. Hanwha Ocean is also the only Korean company with submarine export records. In 2011, it exported three Jangbogo-I class submarines to Indonesia, signing the largest defense contract in Korean history (approximately $1.1 billion). This achievement made Korea the fifth country in the world to export submarines, following the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Russia.

Starting in October this year, a fourth special ship plant will be established at the Geoje site. This plant is intended to support new submarine acquisition projects for countries such as Canada and Poland. Once the plant is operational, Hanwha Ocean's simultaneous submarine construction capacity will double from the current two to four submarines.

Competition with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is expected to be fierce over the Korean next-generation destroyer (KDDX) project. The KDDX project is a large-scale national initiative to invest 7.8 trillion won by 2030 to secure six 6,000-ton Aegis destroyers. In February, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy designated both HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean as defense contractors. During this process, the two companies engaged in legal disputes against each other.

Hanwha Ocean plans to emphasize that it has been conducting research on advanced technologies required for the KDDX, such as electric propulsion systems, integrated masts, advanced hull forms, integrated networks, and smart bridges, since the conceptual design phase in 2012. The electric propulsion system, one of the core technologies of the KDDX, is still unfamiliar in domestic surface vessels, but Hanwha Ocean has already applied it to the Jangbogo-III Batch-I and Batch-II submarines through its design and construction experience.

Global Demand for Naval Vessels Rising, Intense Competition for Orders

Hanwha Ocean also plans to secure the MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) market based on its export-oriented vessel design and construction capabilities. By 2030, Hanwha Ocean aims to simultaneously build five submarines and three surface vessels, and has secured berths that can accommodate four submarines and seven surface vessels at the same time to strengthen production capacity.

Some observers predict that Denmark's efforts to strengthen its maritime power could present opportunities for Korean shipbuilding and defense companies. In addition to naval vessels, Hanwha Ocean is also capable of building icebreakers. If orders for icebreakers increase, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries are expected to benefit. Hanwha Ocean has built icebreaking LNG carriers since its predecessor, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. Samsung Heavy Industries has experience collaborating with Russia's Zvezda Shipyard on the construction of icebreaking LNG carriers and other vessels.

Analysts also suggest that orders for icebreakers could increase if the Russia-Ukraine war ends. Before Western sanctions halted orders, Russia was the largest customer for Korean shipbuilders' icebreakers. In 2021, Russia placed orders for four icebreakers each with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries.