BIGGER & BETTER: HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES SHIPBUILDING CAPABILITY

By Scott Taylor

On Thursday April 6, I had the honour of attending the handover ceremony of the Shin Chae-Ho, a 3,000 ton, modern diesel-electric attack submarine developed and built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) and delivered to the Republic of Korea’s Navy. The ceremony took place at the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea and was attended by over 100 international and Korean officials. Many of the attendees took the morning train to Ulsan from Seoul and consisted of a large number of foreign military attaches including Canadian Captain (N) Jill Marrack. One of the guests of honour was Canadian senator, the Honourable Michael L. MacDonald. This was Senator MacDonald’s second trip to the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard and his third visit to South Korean shipyards in total.?

“The big three Korean shipyards – Hyundai, Hanwha and Samsung – are arguably the finest in the world in terms of productivity, quality control, technical proficiency, and on-time delivery of? product. Canadian shipyards are simply not in the same league as these behemoths, but neither are many other shipyards around the world” Senator MacDonald said in a statement to Esprit de Corps. “When it comes to building quality ships and value for money, a? professional working relationship with the Korean shipbuilders is something worth considering by those that would build large vessels in Canada.”

The Seoul-based correspondent for Naval News described Senator MacDonald as being “known to be interested in South Korea’s 3,000-ton class submarines”. Naval News further speculates that “Canada is expected to order a fleet of such vessels in 2026, with South Korean shipbuilders one of the candidates.”

THE CEREMONY

Following a brief cocktail reception, attendees of the ceremony were welcomed to a five course lunch in the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Guest House. Speakers included: His Worship, Doo gyum, Kim, the mayor of Ulsan metropolitan city, Mr. Kyung-ho, Han, the Director General for future capability program of DAPA (Defense Acquision Program Agency), Mr. Il Sung, Deputy Minister of MND (RoK Ministry of National Defence), RADM Jung-ho Kang, Commander, the RoK Submarine Forces, H.E. Paul Fernando Duclos Parodi, Ambassador of Peru and last but not least the Honourable Senator Michael MacDonald of Canada.. One of the oft-repeated themes of the speeches was the fact that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries continues to build warships and submarines with on time and on budget deliveries.The formal portion of the event involved a ceremonial signing over of the Shin Chae-ho from the Shipyard to the RoK Navy. Following this event there was a brief tour of the sprawling HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard and a tour of the KSS III, Shin Chae-Ho submarine.

THE SHIN CHAE-HO

For the majority of the attendees, our business attire or dress uniforms in the case of the attaches and senior naval officers, the ladder climbing and close quarters of the submarine made for a somewhat challenging tour. However, the unique experience made it well worth the effort.

The Shin Chae-ho is equipped with the latest fuel cell, lead-acid battery propulsion system and state-of-the-art noise-control technology, which provides a significant boost in terms of covert mission capabilities and survivability.

The Shin Chae-ho is actually the third submarine in her class, albeit the first of them built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. The other two were constructed at the DSME (now Hanwha) shipyard. If all goes according to the current schedule, the Republic of Korea Navy will have six newly built KSS III submarines by 2030.

South Korea is proud of the fact that they have developed into one of only eight countries which are currently capable of building 3,000-ton submarines with homegrown technology. That list includes; the United States, Britain, France, Japan, India, China and Russia.

The Shin Chae-ho boasts domestically-developed key technologies for essential sub-surface warfare equipment, such as combat and sonar systems. With its air-independent propulsion (AIP) system the Shin Chae-ho possesses a high-performance fuel system which can generate electricity underwater without the need for external air intake, thus allowing for longer diving times. Something which the RCN would require for operating in the Arctic.

The Shin Chae-ho is armed with six vertical-launch tubes for submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLMB). These are counter measures aimed at eliminating any incoming North Korean missile threats.

?While the quarters are admittedly cramped the Shin Chae-ho can accommodate around 50 crew-members without requiring these submariners to engage in the practice of ‘hot-bunking. Unlike most older diesel-electric submarines currently in service, the Shin Chae-ho crew have the luxury of having their very own bunk. While the exact speed remains classified it is estimated to be close to 20 knots (roughly 37 kilometers per hour).

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries SHIPYARD

The first impression of any visitor to the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan shipyard is the sheer scale of the operation. South Korea has emerged as the pre-eminent shipbuilding nation in the world and ‘seeing is believing’ when one drives through the sprawling facilities of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard. In total there are 10 dry-docks and one shiplift equipped with 10 Goliath cranes and modern construction facilities. To cater strictly to warship and submarine construction there is a dedicated organization named the Naval & Special Ship Business Unit (NSSBU). This unique division has specialized manpower and independent building facilities in a secured zone within the shipyard. The size of the workforce alone boggles the mind as the Ulsan facility alone employees some 13,000 workers. During our visit, the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard was a beehive of activity reminiscent of newsreels from WW2 depicting the US war-time construction fervour. There was no ‘quiet’ or unused portion of the facility evident. “Korean shipyards normally have order books of 4-5 years in the queue.” noted senator MacDonald “They are never idle for work.”