Stephen Fuhr, the Canadian Minister responsible for Defense Procurement, visited Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje plant on the morning of the 2nd. The company is one of the two contenders, along with Germany, for Canada’s submarine procurement program (CPSP), which is valued at up to 60 trillion KRW.
Fuhr is the main person in charge of coordinating Canada’s defense procurement policies. During his week-long trip to South Korea, he is expected to meet with domestic defense and major industry representatives, such as Hanwha Ocean, to discuss offset trade cooperation—a key interest for the Canadian government.
Fuhr’s role involves representing the government in explaining strategic needs, industrial participation, and alliance cooperation for large-scale projects like CPSP. He oversees the newly established Defence Investment Agency, which was created to revamp and expedite Canada’s military procurement system, effectively spearheading the CPSP.
On his visit, accompanied by around 30 Canadian government and business officials, Fuhr toured assembly factories at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje site, examining production automation facilities that utilize welding robots. Representatives from major Canadian shipbuilding firms also joined the visit to discuss cooperation in shipbuilding and marine sectors between the two countries.
The delegation boarded the lead ship Jang Yeong-sil of the Jangbogo-III Batch-II, submitted in the CPSP bid, experiencing its capabilities firsthand. Hanwha Ocean is competing with Germany’s TKMS for the contract. Key executives from Hanwha Ocean and Defense Ministry officials guided the tour, showcasing the advanced manufacturing technologies and expertise in submarine production.
Following the submarine experience, Fuhr expressed his positive impressions, commending the remarkable internal technology. He closely inspected ongoing construction work for subsequent submarines, showing great interest in Hanwha Ocean’s production capabilities.
Ted Kirkpatrick, Vice President of Ontario Shipyards, who was part of Fuhr’s retinue, expressed delight over exploring opportunities to leverage Ontario Shipyards’ facilities and personnel based on the remarkable capacities demonstrated at Hanwha Ocean. Jean-François Séguin from Irving Shipyards hailed the visit as an excellent opportunity to understand the corporate role in maximizing Canadian submarine program success.
Hanwha Ocean, after the site visit, articulated to Minister Fuhr about plans for industrial collaboration with Canadian local enterprises concerning the CPSP. The company reinforced its commitment to establishing Korea and Hanwha as core partners in Canada’s ‘global economic and security supply chain.’ Preceding this, Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Systems signed strategic investment and cooperation MOUs with five Canadian companies in sectors like steel, AI, and space on January 26 (local Canadian time) to support the CPSP contract bid.
Kim Hee-cheol, CEO of Hanwha Ocean, regarded the minister’s visit as a field verification and inspection of their CPSP proposal, underscoring Hanwha Ocean’s commitment not only to deliver optimal solutions for the Canadian Navy but also to be a trusted partner for Canada’s industrial growth.