HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has succeeded for the first time in jointly building a naval vessel overseas on site.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said on the 19th that it held a launching ceremony for the Peruvian Navy's first new landing support ship, the Chimbote, at the SIMA shipyard in Peru.
Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori attended the launching ceremony and presided over the event herself. Also in attendance were Peruvian Navy Commander General Federico Javier Bravo de Rueda Delgado, Ambassador to Peru Choi Jong-uk of the Republic of Korea, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries President Joo Won-ho, and other government officials from both countries.
The Chimbote, launched this time, is the first of two new landing support ships jointly built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and the SIMA shipyard.
In Apr. 2024, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries won orders from the Peruvian Navy for a total of four vessels, including a frigate, an offshore patrol vessel, and landing support ships. Since then, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has been simultaneously building the two landing support ships among them. The second ship, the Talara, also completed its onshore construction process earlier this month.
The Chimbote and the Talara are multipurpose landing support ships that will perform a range of missions, including transporting personnel and supplies, logistics support, and disaster and calamity response. The ships are named after major port cities in Peru.
The Peruvian naval vessel project was carried out with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries providing design and technical support, while the SIMA shipyard used local production facilities to participate in block production, assembly, outfitting, testing, and sea trials.
Regarding the Peruvian naval vessel export project, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries explained that it is meaningful in that it transformed the concept of naval exports from "delivery of finished goods after domestic construction" to "local joint production through technical cooperation." HD Hyundai Heavy Industries expects exports to increase going forward as more countries require local construction of ordered vessels.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said that in this export project, government-level support and public-private cooperation played a key role. The Ministry of National Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration promoted cooperation with the Peruvian government and provided flank support for HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' naval exports. The Embassy of Korea in Peru and KOTRA also supported the project by facilitating communication with the Peruvian government and leveraging local networks.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries President Joo Won-ho said, "The launching of the Chimbote is a Team Korea achievement accomplished by the public and private sectors acting as one," adding, "We will enhance the competitiveness of K-vessels and diversify export markets."
Meanwhile, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is currently carrying out the basic design of the Peruvian Navy's next-generation 1,500-ton-class submarine and is maintaining close cooperation with the Peruvian government to begin construction of the lead ship immediately after the design is completed.