South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) has launched a submarine, which succeeded in winning orders abroad for the first time in Korea.
The 1400-ton submarine was launched on March 24 at DSME’s Okpo shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, in a ceremony. The vessel is part of a US$1.1 billion (1.28 trillion won) contract, the largest defense export deal in Korea, signed between DSME and the Indonesian Defence Ministry in 2011.
In particular, it is meaningful in that it is the nation’s first submarine for export solely developed by DSME.
The vessel has a full length of 61 meters and can travel up to 100,000 nautical miles (18,520 km) with 40 crew members without inter-port services. It is the distance equivalent to a round-trip from the Port of Busan Port to the Port of Los Anegels.
DSME acquired the technology from Germany at the end of 1988. Since then, the company has been continuously researching and developing its technologies after Chang Bo-go I class submarine.
Source: Business Korea / Image Credit : DSME
