Canada’s Minister of Industry visits Hanwha Ocean shipyard in South Korea

Press Release

Minister Joly Tours KSS-III submarine that was recently launched for the Republic of Korea Navy and is one of the leading contenders for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project

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November 24, 2025

Today, Hanwha Ocean was extremely pleased to host the Honourable Melanie Joly, Canada’s Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. During her visit, Minister Joly toured one of the largest and most advanced shipbuilding facilities in the world, including the active production line for the KSS-III submarine. She also boarded and toured the KSS-III that was launched for the Republic of Korea Navy on October 22 – the exact same submarine that Hanwha is proposing for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP).

In discussions with Minister Joly, Hanwha emphasized its commitment to establishing a robust and long-term strategic partnership with the Government of Canada and Canadian industry in the areas of defence, space, sustainable energy, critical minerals and other areas that will create jobs and economic growth, accelerate Canada’s defence capabilities, and enhance cooperation, partnership and supply chains between Canada and South Korea – a relationship that is becoming more and more important, and one that supports the objectives of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. Already, Hanwha has MOUs and Teaming Agreements in place with more than a dozen Canadian companies.

Minister Joly, responsible for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, discussed the strategic and economic aspects of Hanwha’s CPSP proposal. The visit provided an opportunity to assess South Korea’s industrial capabilities and explore potential collaboration that could support job creation and economic growth in Canada.

In August 2025, Hanwha Ocean’s KSS-III was selected by the Government of Canada as a qualified supplier for CPSP. The KSS-III is a proven, in-service, in-active production submarine that fully meets and exceeds all High-Level Mandatory Requirements (HLMRs) set by the Government of Canada for CPSP. These include superior underwater surveillance capability and deployability in the Arctic with extended range and endurance that will provide stealth, persistence and lethality to ensure that Canada can detect, track, deter and, if necessary, defeat adversaries in all 3 of its oceans.

Importantly, Hanwha Ocean has the fastest delivery schedule, able to deliver four KSS-III submarines to fully replace Canada’s current Victoria Class fleet before 2035 if on contract in 2026. Earlier retirement of the Victoria Class fleet will result in estimated savings of approximately $1 Billion on maintenance and support costs. The additional 8 submarines will be delivered at a rate of one per year, meaning the entire fleet of 12 submarines will be delivered to Canada by 2043. No other option can come anywhere close to this delivery schedule.

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Quotes

“It was a great pleasure to host Minister Joly at our shipyard today and show her the proven, in-service and in-production KSS-III submarine that we feel is the best submarine for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project. Equally important was our discussion on the economic benefits we plan to bring to Canada as part of this project as well as how Canada and South Korea can enhance their relationship in a number of areas that are of strategic importance to both nations.”

VAdm (Ret) Steve SK Jeong, Senior Executive Vice President, Head of Naval Ship International Business, Hanwha Ocean

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About the KSS-III Canadian Patrol Submarine (www.KSS-III.ca)

The KSS-III Canadian Patrol Submarine (KSS-III CPS) is South Korea’s latest evolution in conventional submarine technology—indigenously designed and constructed through decades of spiral development of a modern, conventional, ocean-going submarine. Over the last four decades, Hanwha Ocean has continued to evolve a proven MOTS submarine design culminating with the latest batch of the KSS submarine fleet.

Equipped with Lithium-ion batteries and an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, the KSS-III CPS offers the longest submerged endurance among conventional submarines in service – exceeding 7,000 nautical miles. It is outfitted with both a state-of-the-art sonar system and acoustic tiles developed in Korea, offering outstanding target detection capability and advanced stealth performance. The platform is fully optimized for Anti-Submarine Warfare, Anti-Surface Warfare, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Minelaying, and Special Operations Forces (SOF) support.

The KSS-III is recognized as the only proven, in-service submarine platform capable of fully supporting Canada’s ‘Three Ocean Strategy’ — ensuring operational reach, surveillance, and deterrence across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic Oceans.

KSS-III is not an export-only model—it is the same class of submarine actively operated by the Republic of Korea Navy in real-world conditions. This ensures Canada will benefit from a proven platform, backed by an established supply chain and validated operational and maintenance data throughout the 30+ years of in-service support (ISS).

The KSS-III is the backbone of the ROK Navy submarine force. Acquisition of the KSS-III would allow Canada to be a member of the international KSS-III User Group which consists of a growing number of nations.

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About Hanwha Ocean (www.HanwhaOcean.com)

Hanwha Ocean’s shipyard in Geoje, South Korea, spanning 5 square kilometres, is one of the largest and most advanced shipbuilding facilities in the world and is where we build the KSS-III submarine. With more than 31,000 employees, Hanwha Ocean specializes in the design and construction of various naval and commercial vessels, including submarines, destroyers, frigates, auxiliary vessels, container ships, and tankers as well as offshore platforms, drilling rigs, Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units and Floating Production Units (FPUs).

For more than forty years, Hanwha Ocean has been building and servicing submarines for the Republic of Korea Navy and other navies.

Since 1973, the company has built more than 1,400 vessels, including 114 naval vessels. The company designed and delivered the first KSS-III to the Republic of Korea Navy in 2021, and the second in 2023.

Hanwha Ocean constructs more than 40 naval and commercial vessels per year.

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Canadian Partners (www.KSS-III.ca/Canadian-Partners)

Hanwha Ocean is committed to establishing a robust and long-term presence in Canada that will create jobs and economic growth, accelerate Canada’s domestic defence capabilities, and enhance cooperation and partnership between Canada and South Korea in a variety of strategic industrial areas.

Hanwha has teaming agreements and MOUs in place with more than a dozen Canadian companies, including Babcock Canada, Blackberry, CAE, Curtiss-Wright Indal Technologies, Des Nedhe Group, Gastops, J Squared Technologies, L3Harris Canada, ModestTree and PCL Construction, and has entered into contracts with two Canadian firms, Modest Tree and Hepburn Engineering.

• The Teaming Agreement with CAE (Montreal, Quebec) is related to integrated training solutions and critical operations support solutions.

• Under the Teaming Agreement, Babcock Canada (Ottawa, Ontario, Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, and Halifax, Nova Scotia) becomes the exclusive In-Service Support partner that will support Hanwha Ocean on CPSP.

• The MOU with BlackBerry (Waterloo, Ontario) is related to their secure communications product portfolio and embedded software solutions.

• The MOU with Curtis-Wright Indal Technologies (Mississauga, Ontario) is related to towed array handling and winch system.

• The MOU with Des Nedhe Group (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) is related to economic sustainability.

• The MOU with Gastops (Ottawa, Ontario) is related to propulsion systems machinery control, modelling and simulation.

• The MOU with J Squared Technologies (Ottawa, Ontario) is related to critical capabilities for sea platforms.

• The MOU with L3Harris Canada (Ottawa, Ontario) is related to their integrated platform management system, integrated communications system, steering diving & control system, and other L3Harris maritime capabilities.

• The MOU with Modest Tree (Halifax, Nova Scotia) is related to immersive training and digital in-service support solutions.

• The MOU with PCL Construction (Edmonton, Alberta) is related to construction of infrastructure.