Overview
- The ROKS Dosan Ahn Changho arrived at CFB Esquimalt on Saturday after a nearly two‑month, roughly 15,000‑kilometre trans‑Pacific voyage that included stops in Guam and Hawaii.
- Two Royal Canadian Navy submariners joined the voyage in Hawaii, a step officials say demonstrates hands‑on interoperability between the ROK and Canadian submarine forces.
- The Dosan and an accompanying South Korean frigate began joint exercises with the Royal Canadian Navy and are scheduled to take part in longer Pacific operations and the Rim of the Pacific exercise.
- Hanwha Ocean, which built the KSS‑III, is using the visit as a live demonstration to support its CPSP bid and says it can deliver the first submarine by 2032, four by 2035, and all 12 by 2043 — a schedule the company presents as its proposal, not a government guarantee.
- Canada has shortlisted Hanwha and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, which seeks up to 12 conventionally powered boats and carries major implications for Canadian shipyard jobs, Victoria‑class replacement timing, and Pacific undersea capability with a preferred‑bidder decision expected in late June.