Attended by over 300 naval officers and other representatives from both countries, a send-off event for the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, was held at a port in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province on Wednesday.
Among them were Canadian Ambassador to Seoul Philippe Lafortune and British Ambassador to Seoul Colin Crooks.
The heavy-duty submarine began its months-long journey, traveling about 14,000 kilometers from the southern naval port city of Jinhae to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, with stops in Guam and Hawaii for replenishment. Two Canadian submariners will join the crew for the final leg of the journey.
The lengthy voyage would mark the longest distance ever traveled by a South Korean submarine.
After the joint exercise in Canada, it will also take part in the U.S.-led multinational Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in Hawaii in late June before returning home.
"I hope the voyage will demonstrate the superior technology and operational capabilities of South Korean submarines," Navy chief Kim Kyung-ryul said at the event.
The voyage comes as a South Korean consortium led by Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries competes with Germany's Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) for a landmark contract to supply 12 submarines to the Canadian Navy to replace its aging fleet, a deal worth about 60 trillion won (US$40 billion).
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
