Hanwha Ocean on the 28th expressed regret over losing out in Poland's next-generation submarine contract and said it will focus on overseas naval defense projects to be pursued in Canada, the Middle East, and elsewhere.
In a statement distributed that day, "Hanwha Ocean's position on the result of Poland's Orca program," Hanwha Ocean said, "We made companywide efforts to export submarines to Poland but did not achieve what we hoped," and added, "We will take this as an opportunity to newly commit, with a determination to make painful self-improvements, to upcoming global naval defense export projects in Canada, the Middle East, and beyond."
Hanwha Ocean added, "We are disappointed by the Polish government's decision, but rather than be discouraged by a past failure, as the leading player in K-naval defense, we will make all-out efforts to achieve new results befitting the national stature of the Republic of Korea," and, "We express our gratitude to the government, the National Assembly, and the public, and will repay them with the best results."
Earlier, the Polish government chose Sweden's Saab as the final contractor for the "Orka Project," a next-generation submarine acquisition program. The Orca Project is aimed at securing three state-of-the-art 3,000-ton submarines to strengthen defense in the Baltic Sea, and including construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), the program could be worth up to 8 trillion won.
Hanwha Ocean, which has competitiveness in submarines, teamed up with the government as one team to take part in the bidding but failed to be selected as the final contractor.