Hanwha Ocean Showcases Presence in Poland with Jangbogo-III Submarine

Participation in the Poland Security Forum

Nick Hine, Director of International at UK Babcock (second from left), Anna Clunes, British Ambassador to Poland (third from left), and Jeong Seung-gyun, Head of Overseas Special Ship Business Division at Hanwha Ocean (second from right), along with other officials, participated in the International Maritime Security Forum held in Warsaw, Poland on the 20th. They visited the exhibition booth specially prepared by Hanwha Ocean and took a commemorative photo. Photo by Hanwha Ocean

Hanwha Ocean announced on the 24th that it participated in the 'National Maritime Security Forum' held in Warsaw, Poland on the 20th.

The National Maritime Security Forum is Poland's largest maritime security conference held annually in Warsaw. The event was attended by defense industry companies interested in the modernization of the Polish Navy, as well as Polish Navy personnel, defense industry experts, and maritime security officials. Hanwha Ocean's Executive Director of Overseas Business Division, Park Sung-woo, presented development plans regarding the 'submarine operation concept and education and training sector.'

In particular, the proposal of the 'Gap Filler Program' for maintaining crew combat readiness attracted the attention of many Polish officials attending the event. This program enables the maintenance of combat readiness of crew members during the construction of the Polish Orka submarine.

Furthermore, Hanwha Ocean's Vice President and Head of Overseas Business Division, Jung Seung-kyun, participated in a panel discussion attended by foreign ambassadors stationed in Poland, the Polish Navy, and other key figures. At this session, Vice President Jung provided detailed explanations on localization, technology transfer, and repair and maintenance support plans, which was highly praised for resolving many questions held by the Polish Navy.

Additionally, Hanwha Ocean presented a vision on how South Korea, having introduced submarine technology from Germany in the past, rose to become a global submarine powerhouse, and how it plans to contribute to the development of the Polish Navy based on this experience, receiving strong positive responses from attendees.

Meanwhile, during the event, key figures such as the British Ambassador to Poland, the U.S. Navy Attach?, and the Deputy Commander of the Polish Navy Operations Command visited Hanwha Ocean’s exhibition booth at the venue and showed great interest in the Jangbogo-III submarine.

Hanwha Ocean successfully held an 'Industry Day' on the 21st of last month in Gdansk, a core city of Poland’s maritime industry, inviting local Polish companies and domestic partner companies. Subsequently, on the 6th of this month, Hanwha Ocean submitted the 'Polish Submarine Joint MRO Plan' to the Polish Navy together with local defense companies. This plan aims to enable the Polish Navy and local companies to independently operate and maintain the Jangbogo-III submarines. It incorporates Hanwha Ocean’s accumulated experience and know-how from long-term operation of South Korean Navy submarines.

Hanwha Ocean aims to provide the Polish Navy with advanced technology and overwhelmingly capable submarines that can be operated for more than 30 years. In particular, the company plans to actively promote technology transfer and localization that can contribute to the development of Polish industry. It also supports the expansion of Polish market entry for Korean companies supplying the technology and key equipment necessary for submarine maintenance. Furthermore, detailed cooperation plans for technology and license transfer were shared, including establishing a support center locally to enable the Polish Navy to independently perform MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) in the future.

Jung Seung-kyun, Vice President and Head of Hanwha Ocean’s Special Ship Overseas Business Division, said, "The Orka project will serve as a catalyst to further strengthen cooperation between Korea and Poland in economic, industrial sectors, and naval development."

The Orka project is part of the Polish government’s naval modernization initiative, involving the acquisition of three new submarines to be operated by the navy in the future. The Polish government is currently proceeding with procedures for submarine procurement. It is expected that the top three companies will be selected around July this year, with the preferred negotiation partner chosen in the first half of next year.

Hanwha Ocean is currently competing fiercely with European submarine powerhouses such as Germany, France, Sweden, and Spain in the Orka project. The company plans to form a 'Team Korea' with major domestic partner companies based on the Jangbogo-III submarine, which has a localization rate of about 80%. Through this, Hanwha Ocean intends to propose proactive and differentiated localization and technology transfer to strengthen Poland’s independent MRO capabilities. Hanwha Ocean aims to use the Orka project win as a stepping stone to expand the global market entry of domestic partner companies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.