Will Canadian Prime Minister Visit Hanwha Ocean Ahead of 60 Trillion Won Submarine Deal? Canadian Working-Level Team Visits Geoje

Canadian Navy Working-Level Team Visits Geoje
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The Canadian Navy, which is in the process of commissioning a next-generation submarine project worth 60 trillion won, recently visited Hanwha Ocean, according to reports. Expectations for a mega-scale defense contract are rising, as there is speculation that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who will visit Korea next week to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, may personally visit the shipyard.

Hanwha Ocean site located in Geoje, Gyeongnam. Photo by Yonhap News

According to industry sources on October 23, the Canadian Navy's working-level team for the next-generation submarine acquisition project visited the Hanwha Ocean site in Geoje, Gyeongnam, on October 20. The team is staying for a week and holding working-level meetings. It is reported that the Canadian side visited to closely inspect the performance and production capabilities of Hanwha Ocean's Jangbogo-III Batch-II submarine.

This visit is considered significant because it comes as Korea and Germany have emerged as the two final contenders in the bid for the next-generation submarine project. The Canadian side previously narrowed down the final candidates to the Jangbogo-III Batch-II model from Hanwha Ocean and the 212CD model from Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) of Germany. An industry official stated, "This working-level meeting is effectively the final stage of technical verification," adding, "It is a process for the Canadian government to directly confirm the production capabilities and potential risks of the candidate countries before making a final decision."

In particular, there is analysis that the working-level team's visit is related to Prime Minister Carney's schedule next week. There is a possibility that Prime Minister Carney may visit the Hanwha Ocean Geoje Shipyard during his trip to Korea. Previously, after meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he also personally visited the TKMS shipyard in Kiel, Germany.

The Canadian submarine project involves the construction of 12 next-generation diesel submarines, with construction costs alone reaching 20 billion dollars (approximately 28 trillion won), and the total project, including maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), is expected to reach up to 60 trillion won. If Hanwha Ocean succeeds in winning the contract, it will mark the largest single defense export contract in history.

The Jangbogo-III Batch-II is equipped with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system and lithium-ion batteries, enabling it to remain submerged for more than three weeks, which is among the longest in the world. It can also travel up to 7,000 nautical miles (about 12,900 km), making it suitable for the wide operational range required by the Canadian Navy. The submarine is equipped with vertical launch tubes capable of launching submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and features stealth capabilities by absorbing enemy detection signals.