South Korean submarine arrives in Canada

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. Photo by David Pugliese /Postmedia

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VICTORIA — A South Korean KSS-III submarine arrived in British Columbia on Saturday as part of an effort to further defence relations, but also to market the high-tech boat in the multi-billion-dollar competition for Canada’s new sub fleet.

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The Republic of Korea’s Dosan Ahn Chang-ho docked at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in Victoria after a 14,000-kilometre voyage, the longest ever undertaken by one of Korea’s submarines.

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The KSS-III submarine is in Canada to conduct joint exercises with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), but it is also doing double-duty in a hotly contested multi-billion-dollar defence procurement competition.

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Canada will acquire up to 12 new submarines for the RCN and has narrowed the competition down to the KSS-III submarine from the South Korean company Hanwha Ocean and the Type 212CD submarine from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS).

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The Liberal government hopes to make an announcement on the winning bid by this summer.

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The South Korean submarine Dosan Ahn Chang-ho arrives at CFB Esquimalt in Victoria on Saturday. Photo by David Pugliese /Postmedia

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Glenn Copeland, CEO of Ottawa-based Hanwha Defence Canada, said that, while the arrival of the sub showed the increasingly close military relations between South Korea and Canada, the timing was fortuitous for his company. “It works well,” he said. “We are going to take advantage of the submarine being here.”

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The Royal Canadian Navy is using the Korean submarine visit to push home its message of the need for a modern submarine fleet.

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Rear-Admiral David Patchell, commander of Maritime Forces Pacific, acknowledged that only one of Canada’s four aging Victoria-class subs was currently operational. “I need them yesterday,” Patchell said when asked when the navy would need new submarines.

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Patchell said the purchase of 12 new boats would signal that Canada was a “submarine nation.”

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“It’s a message to our allies that we’re taking defence seriously,” he added.

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Joining the crew of the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho were Lt. Cmdr. Britany Bourgeois and Petty Officer Second Class Jake Dixon of the Royal Canadian Navy. Both RCN members participated in training activities at sea and observed how both the crew and equipment operated.

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Royal Canadian Navy Lt. Cmdr. Britany Bourgeois was on board the South Korean submarine Dosan Ahn Chang-ho for part of its voyage to Victoria. Photo by David Pugliese /Postmedia

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Bourgeois described the South Korean boat as spacious, clean and modern. “What really hit home is that Canada needs new submarines,” she said.

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South Korean officials said the journey demonstrated that the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho had the operational range, endurance, and self-sufficiency that Canada required for its Canadian Patrol Submarine Project.

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The ROK Navy announced May 18 that the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho successfully established communications with the Royal Canadian Navy Pacific Fleet using its onboard communications systems under simulated war-time conditions. Through the successful communication, the ROK and RCN directly verified interoperability between the two navies in an operational environment, according to the South Koreans.