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2w ago

South Korean Submarine Visits Esquimalt as Canada Nears Sub Fleet Decision

The Dosan Ahn Chang-ho’s trans‑Pacific arrival is a live demonstration meant to shape Ottawa’s choice before a late‑June preferred‑bidder announcement.

Image
ROKS Dosan Ahn Changho and ROKS Daejeon arrival at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in Victoria. (ROKN Photo)
Royal Canadian Navy host the Republic of Korea Navy KSS-III, known as Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, during a welcome ceremony at CFB Esquimalt in Esquimalt, B.C., on Monday, May 25, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
The South Korean submarine Dosan Ahn Chang-ho arrives at CFB Esquimalt in Victoria on Saturday. It is one of South Korea's KSS-III-class submarines.

Overview

  • The ROKS Dosan Ahn Chang-ho arrived at CFB Esquimalt on Saturday, May 23, after a roughly 14,000‑km trans‑Pacific transit and is conducting joint exercises and public events with the Royal Canadian Navy.
  • During the voyage the Korean submarine established combined C4I communications with Canada’s Pacific command and took on two Canadian submariners in Hawaii so they could observe operations firsthand.
  • Canada is weighing final bids from South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean and Germany/Norway’s TKMS for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, which seeks up to 12 conventionally powered boats and has a program estimate of about CAD$40–44 billion.
  • Hanwha is using the visit to press delivery timelines and large industrial investment promises, including claims of first-boat delivery by 2032, while TKMS is pitching a NATO‑aligned Type 212CD with government‑backed industrial partnerships.
  • The decision due in late June will shape infrastructure and jobs in Esquimalt and Halifax, affect Royal Canadian Navy recruiting and training plans, and set Canada’s undersea capability for operations across the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic.