South Korean submarine docks in BC for Canada contract race

A South Korean submarine has arrived in British Columbia as part of a high-stakes competition to secure a multibillion-dollar contract to build Canada’s next submarine fleet. The ROKS Dosan Ahn Changho, a KSSIII-class diesel-electric submarine, docked at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in Victoria on Saturday following a two-month, 14,000-kilometer voyage across the Pacific. The visit, which marks the longest journey ever undertaken by a South Korean submarine, is intended to showcase the vessel's capabilities ahead of a final procurement decision expected this summer.

The submarine, accompanied by the frigate ROKS Daejeon, will participate in joint exercises with the Royal Canadian Navy. Its arrival coincides with the final stages of Canada's Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, which seeks to acquire up to 12 new conventionally powered submarines. The competition is between South Korea's Hanwha Ocean, which built the visiting submarine, and Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), whose bid is supported by the governments of Germany and Norway.

Senior South Korean officials, including the Chief of Naval Operations and the head of the state arms procurement agency, attended a...