Hanwha Ocean, the South Korean shipbuilding giant, met with Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax for high-level discussions on potential collaboration spanning naval sustainment, workforce development, industrial participation, supply chain development, and facility modernization. The talks were led by Hanwha Ocean CEO Hee-Cheul Kim and Irving Shipbuilding President Dirk Lesko.
One of the world’s most advanced naval shipbuilders is strengthening ties with a Halifax institution as Canada moves to build a long-term sovereign naval capability.
Hanwha Ocean brings to the table a breadth of naval shipbuilding expertise that few yards in the world can match. Over more than four decades, the company has been the backbone of the Republic of Korea Navy’s submarine program — designing, constructing, and sustaining vessels that have made South Korea one of the most capable submarine operators in the Asia-Pacific. Beyond submarines, Hanwha Ocean has built an impressive portfolio across the full spectrum of naval vessels: Aegis destroyers and frigates for the Korean Navy, replenishment vessels for the British and Norwegian navies, and frigates for the Royal Thai Navy, among others. That export track record — spanning allies across Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Indo-Pacific — reflects a shipbuilder with both the technical depth and the partnership experience to support complex, long-term naval programs abroad. Its Geoje shipyard, one of the largest and most technologically sophisticated naval construction facilities in the world, underpins all of it.
Irving Shipbuilding, Canada’s National Champion for combat vessels under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, brings its own formidable strengths to the table. The Halifax-based yard has cultivated a domestic supply network of over 700 Canadian firms, is in the midst of major infrastructure investment at its waterfront facility and has built a growing workforce pipeline suited to complex naval work. Irving Shipbuilding’s affiliate, Fleetway Inc., has been a strategic partner in sovereign Canadian naval sustainment for 40 years, with roots in St John Shipbuilding dating back to 1984, serving five regions of Canada, including the Atlantic, St. Lawrence, and Pacific coasts. Together, Irving Shipbuilding and Fleetway have built a formidable manufacturing and technical base, achieving high-performance outcomes for Canada across three simultaneous programs: world-ranging Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships; workhorse Halifax Class frigates through life sustainment and life extension; and powerful next-generation Aegis-equipped River Class Destroyers. Through these programs, Irving has sharpened its industrial processes — and its leaders have pointed to prior visits to Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje yard and other work leveraging South Korea’s shipbuilding expertise as direct influences in that evolution.
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