HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean are fiercely competing to secure the Polish Navy's submarine acquisition project, the Orca Project. The shipbuilding industry expects that the preferred negotiator to lead the Orca Project will be selected as early as this year.
On the 10th, according to the defense industry, Hanwha Ocean recently held a meeting in Warsaw, Poland, for government officials regarding the Orca Project. Hanwha Ocean introduced the Jangbogo-III submarine and shared plans to establish maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facilities locally.
Support measures for financing were also proposed. A fund of $100 million (approximately 130 billion won) was promised to support Poland's maritime industry. When domestic corporations win overseas projects, the Export-Import Bank of Korea provides trade financing, and this policy was also introduced as a focus. Hanwha Ocean aims to assist the Polish government in securing financing under favorable conditions.
The Orca Project is a submarine replacement program for the Polish Navy, focusing on introducing three state-of-the-art submarines weighing 3,000 tons each. Including the ship MRO business, the project scale is estimated to reach 8 trillion won.
Leading international shipbuilding and defense companies are participating in the bidding for the Orca Project. Besides Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, competitors include the French Naval Group, German ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), Swedish Saab, Spanish Navantia, and Italian Fincantieri.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is also in continuous contact with the Polish government. The company introduced the advantages of its independently developed 2,300-ton and 3,000-ton submarines and submitted a separate financing plan. In October last year, it signed a related agreement on MRO with the local shipyard Lemontowa. Among Korean shipbuilders, Hanwha Ocean is often recognized as specialized in submarine production, and efforts are being made to improve this perception.
Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai signed an agreement in February to respond as a 'one team' when exporting vessels under the leadership of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. However, as the Orca Project was announced before the agreement was signed, they are competing individually, deeming there is no collaboration involved.
If selected as the prime contractor for the Orca Project, Hanwha Ocean claims it would effectively respond as a one team with support from HD Hyundai. In contrast, HD Hyundai appears to draw a line on this idea.
Currently, in the ongoing Canadian submarine project, the two shipbuilders have jointly submitted a bidding proposal as a one team. The Canadian government is conducting the 'Canadian Patrol Submarine Project' to acquire 8 to 12 submarines weighing 3,000 tons.