Chairperson Team of Thailand House Defense Committee Visits Hanwha Ocean Facility

Interest in Localizing Submarine Construction Stages
"Conveying Commitment to Strengthen Partnership with Thailand"

On the 3rd, the chairpersons of the Defense Committee of the Thai House of Representatives visited Hanwha Ocean's Geoje shipyard, which has a history of exporting frigates to Thailand, to directly assess the shipbuilding capabilities.

The chairpersons mentioned the Thai frigate project, one of Hanwha Ocean's representative export achievements, and expressed their hope for active cooperation regarding the follow-up ship project, which is key to strengthening the Thai Navy's capabilities.

Hanwha Ocean proposed measures to enhance shipbuilding capabilities in collaboration with local shipyards to help strengthen Thailand's naval shipbuilding capacity. The chairpersons, who showed particular interest in localization and technology transfer during the shipbuilding stages, engaged in a lengthy Q&A session with Hanwha Ocean representatives.

The Chairman of the Defense Committee of the Thai House of Representatives (Wirot Lakanadisorn, seventh from the left) and his delegation visited Hanwha Ocean's Geoje plant on the 3rd to discuss the follow-up Thai escort ship project. Photo by Hanwha Ocean

Jung Seung-gyun, Head of Hanwha Ocean's Special Ship Overseas Business Division, said, "Through the visit of the Thai House of Representatives Defense Committee delegation, we shared Hanwha Ocean's will and vision to establish ourselves as a trusted partner of Thailand, and we will contribute to strengthening Thailand's industrial capabilities and economic development through follow-up frigate orders."

Hanwha Ocean secured an order for a 3,600-ton frigate from Thailand in 2013 and successfully delivered it in 2018. Named 'Bhumibol Adulyadej' the following year, this frigate is currently regarded as the best warship in the Southeast Asian region. Bhumibol Adulyadej was the monarch who reigned over Thailand for 70 years.

Meanwhile, on the previous day, the chairpersons also visited Hanwha Aerospace's Changwon Plant No. 2, toured the production site, and discussed overall defense cooperation, including the ongoing K200 armored vehicle supply project between the two countries. In August, Hanwha Aerospace signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Thailand Defense Industry (TDI), under the Defense Technology Institute (DTI) of Thailand, for the supply of K200 armored vehicles.

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