- South Korea's submarine ROKS Dosan Ahn Changho completed the first trans-Pacific crossing by a South Korean submarine, arriving at CFB Esquimalt in Victoria, Canada, on May 23.
- Canada is evaluating bids from Hanwha Ocean and Germany's TKMS for a contract to supply up to 12 new submarines worth an estimated $44 billion.
A South Korean submarine completed the longest voyage in the history of South Korea’s submarine force, crossing 14,000 kilometers of open Pacific Ocean to dock at a Canadian naval base, and the timing was not accidental. Canada is weeks away from one of the most consequential military procurement decisions in its modern history, and Seoul just sailed its best argument directly into the harbor where Canadian admirals make their plans.
The submarine ROKS Dosan Ahn Changho, built by South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean and operated by the Republic of Korea Navy, arrived at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt near Victoria, British Columbia, on May 23, accompanied by the frigate ROKS Daejeon. The voyage began on March 25 at Jinhae Naval Base on South Korea’s southern coast, included logistics stops in Guam and Hawaii, and covered approximately 14,000 kilometers before the submarine entered Esquimalt Harbour. No South Korean submarine had ever crossed the Pacific before. The Korea Navy’s Chief of Naval Operations was on hand to receive the vessels when they arrived.
The Dosan Ahn Changho belongs to the KSS-III class, South Korea’s first domestically designed large submarine program, known locally as the Changbogo-III. The vessel displaces roughly 3,000 tons on the surface and more than 3,700 tons submerged, stretches approximately 89 meters in length, and combines diesel engines with lithium-ion batteries and an air-independent propulsion system that allows it to operate submerged for extended periods without surfacing to recharge. It carries six torpedo tubes and a vertical launch system capable of firing cruise and ballistic missiles. The Dosan Ahn Changho was commissioned in 2021 as the lead vessel of the KSS-III Batch-I program, making it a proven operational platform rather than a prototype or a concept.
Canada needs new submarines badly, and both Seoul and Ottawa know it. The Royal Canadian Navy currently operates four Victoria-class submarines, a British design acquired second-hand in the 1990s that has spent much of its service life in maintenance. Canada’s three-ocean geography, spanning the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic, demands persistent undersea patrol capability that four aging boats simply cannot provide. The Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, launched formally in 2021, aims to procure up to 12 new diesel-electric submarines to replace the Victoria-class fleet. The Canadian government expects a preferred supplier decision as early as summer 2026, and the total program value, including acquisition, maintenance, training, and decades of sustainment, is estimated at roughly $44 billion.
Hanwha Ocean, partnered with fellow South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, is offering the KSS-III. Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, supported by Germany and Norway, is offering the Type 212CD, an updated version of a submarine class already in service with several European navies. Canada narrowed the field to these two in August 2025 after evaluating five initial submissions, and both companies submitted final proposals in March 2026. The decision is now under review in Ottawa.
The deployment of Dosan Ahn Changho to Esquimalt was coordinated to land squarely inside that evaluation window. Glenn Copeland, chief executive of Hanwha Defence Canada, the company’s Canadian subsidiary, told Canada’s Globe and Mail that the company was glad to have the vessel in Canada at such a critical moment in the procurement process. The submarine’s 14,000-kilometer transit serves as a live performance demonstration of one of the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project’s core requirements: the ability to conduct long-range patrols across vast ocean distances. Canada’s requirement specifies an operational range exceeding 7,000 nautical miles and a submerged endurance of at least 21 days. The Dosan Ahn Changho’s Pacific crossing, completed independently without external support, is a direct answer to both specifications.
Major Brittany Bourgeois and Petty Officer Jake Dixon of the RCN submarine command spent approximately two weeks at sea with the Korean crew, crossing the Pacific as the submarine transited from Hawaii to Victoria. Their presence was part of the REGULUS exchange program, a bilateral initiative designed to deepen interoperability between the two navies, and it gave Canadian submariners firsthand exposure to how a KSS-III operates at sea over an extended deployment rather than a short demonstration run in familiar waters.
Following the port arrival and ceremonies, Dosan Ahn Changho and Daejeon were scheduled to conduct combined training exercises with the Royal Canadian Navy in the waters around Esquimalt. After those exercises conclude, the submarine will sail back to Hawaii and join RIMPAC 2026, the U.S.-led multinational maritime exercise that draws naval forces from across the Pacific and beyond. South Korea is also sending its next-generation Aegis destroyer Jeongjo the Great to RIMPAC, giving Seoul a high-visibility platform at the premier naval exercise of the year while simultaneously running live operations with Canada.
Hanwha Ocean has been specific about what a contract win would mean in practical delivery terms. The company says that if Canada signs a contract in 2026, it can deliver four submarines before 2035, fully replacing the current Victoria-class fleet ahead of schedule and generating estimated savings of roughly a billion dollars in avoided Victoria-class maintenance costs. The remaining eight submarines would follow at a rate of one per year, completing the full fleet of 12 by 2043. No other option, Hanwha argues, comes close to that delivery timeline, which matters significantly to a navy that has been operating undersized and underequipped for years.
The German competitor, TKMS, brings a different kind of credibility: a submarine design with operational pedigree across multiple allied navies, industrial partnerships with Canadian companies including Montreal-based simulation firm CAE, and a long institutional track record in NATO submarine programs. The Type 212CD is a joint German-Norwegian development, and both Germany and Norway have committed to build maintenance facilities in Esquimalt and Halifax as part of their bid. Canada has reportedly also considered a split procurement, dividing the 12-boat order between both suppliers, though no decision on that approach has been announced.
What sailed into Esquimalt Harbour on May 23 was more than a warship on a port visit. It was a $44 billion sales pitch delivered at 200 meters depth across half an ocean, surfacing precisely where and when it needed to be seen. Whether that is enough to close the deal is a question Ottawa will answer in the coming weeks, but South Korea has made absolutely certain that Canada’s decision-makers understand one thing clearly: the submarine they are being offered can get wherever it needs to go.