Hanwha Ocean and WB GROUP strengthen partnership and establish cooperation
On 3 September this year, in Kielce, during the XXXII International Defence Industry Exhibition, global shipbuilding and offshore industry leader from South Korea Hanwha Ocean signed a memorandum of cooperation with Poland’s WB GROUP to strengthen their partnership for the programme on acquiring new Orka submarines for the Polish Navy.
The memorandum was signed by Steve Jeong, vice-president of Hanwha Ocean, and Adam Bartosiewicz, vice-president of WB GROUP, and aims to establish a comprehensive framework for the establishment in Poland of a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capability for the new submarines acquired under the Orka programme.
The conclusion of this agreement is not only the establishment of cooperation in the area of servicing and repair of submarines by both companies, but also a step towards exploring further agreements between their industrial partners in projects aimed at transferring specific MRO capabilities.
In addition to the Hanwha Ocean and WB GROUP signatories, the signing ceremony was attended by representatives of KOLON SPACEWORKS and KTE, who are Hanwha Ocean’s main partners involved in the delivery of the KSS-III submarine to the Republic of Korea Navy. They have thus expressed their willingness to participate in the Orca programme.
As a result of the agreement, Hanwha Ocean proposed to Polish companies and government representatives an extensive technology transfer plan related to the location of MRO submarines and broader initiatives covering both the defence and commercial sectors. Meanwhile, KOLON SPACEWORKS representatives presented a plan for the transfer of composite materials technology in cooperation with WBCK, a subsidiary of WB GROUP.
‘This cooperation agreement will pave the way for strengthening partnerships with Polish companies. At Hanwha Ocean, we are confident that WB GROUP will be a strong ally in the realisation of Orka’s independent submarine MRO,’ said Steve Jeong, vice president of Hanwha Ocean.
Hanwha Ocean has achieved more than 80 per cent domestic production in the development and construction of the KSS-III submarine through its continuous efforts in technology independence. Based on this experience, Hanwha Ocean aims to support the Polish defence and shipbuilding industry to build capabilities in the area of autonomous MRO in the future. One of the steps in this regard was the organisation of an Industry Day by Hanwha Ocean in Gdansk in May this year, during which talks took place between Hanwha Ocean’s industrial partners and Polish companies to establish a framework for technological cooperation and building a sustainable supply chain.
Source: PortalMorski.pl
