The Dosan Ahn Chang-ho (SS-III), a 3,000-ton domestically built submarine participating in a combined naval cooperation exercise between South Korea and Canada, became the first Korean submarine to cross the Pacific Ocean and enter a Canadian port on May 23 local time, the South Korean Navy said. The news comes as South Korea and Germany wage all-out national campaigns to win the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), worth up to 60 trillion won.
The submarine entered Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in Victoria, on Canada's west coast, alongside the 3,100-ton frigate Daejeon (FFG). Just before docking, the crew lined up on the bridge and deck and rendered a "ship salute" in unison toward Rear Admiral David Patchell, commander of Canada's Pacific fleet, and Lim Ki-mo, South Korea's ambassador to Canada, who were on the pier. The salute is an international naval custom of paying respect to other vessels or host nations.
With its arrival in Canada, the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho set a new record for the longest voyage by a Korean-built submarine, sailing approximately 14,000 km from Jinhae Naval Base in South Gyeongsang Province on March 25, transiting Guam and Hawaii before reaching Victoria. While Korean submarines have previously sailed to Hawaii to participate in the multinational Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, this marked the first Pacific crossing.
Amid expectations of a tight contest between the two countries, two notable developments have drawn attention, with analysts suggesting that South Korea — initially viewed as the underdog — could pull off an upset victory.
First, Canadian local media extensively covered remarks by Canadian Navy personnel who boarded the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho in Hawaii and sailed with it to Esquimalt Base.
"It's like driving a 1999 Honda Civic and then buying a new Tesla."
Following the arrival of the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho (SS-III) at Canada's Esquimalt naval base in Victoria after a one-way voyage of 14,000 km, Canadian local media — including the daily Globe and Mail, public broadcaster CBC, and private broadcaster CTV — uniformly reported assessments that the Korean submarine is superior to those currently in Canada's fleet.
These assessments, coupled with the Canadian government's pursuit of the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), are seen as a favorable development for South Korea. The two final candidates in the competition are Hanwha Ocean's "KSS-III" and Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) "Type 212CD." The Canadian government is expected to select the final contractor next month.
Most significantly, two crew members from Canada's submarine command boarded the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho in Hawaii and sailed alongside Korean counterparts, directly verifying the trust and interoperability between the two navies. The Canadian crew successfully communicated with Canada's Pacific Maritime Forces using the "Combined C4I System," a command and control system for sharing battlefield information.
It was the first time a Korean-built submarine had used the system to communicate with the Canadian Pacific Fleet. This represents a real-world card played by Hanwha Ocean against Germany's TKMS in the CPSP competition — the first case of directly demonstrating, in an operational environment, the system's interoperability with NATO allies. The successful verification of communication compatibility with the Canadian Navy under operational conditions carries significant weight.
Defence Industry Europe, a European defense industry publication, also reported that during the Pacific crossing, the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho on May 18 used its onboard integrated C4I system to successfully exchange communications with Canada's Pacific Maritime Forces under simulated wartime conditions. The exercise was significant in that it directly verified the interoperability of the two navies in an operational environment.
Military experts said, "The real-world verification of the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho's NATO communications compatibility is not merely a marketing exercise but a meaningful validation that has actually proven the technological competitiveness of Korean-style submarines and dispelled doubts about NATO integration." They added, "The fact that two Canadian officers personally boarded and participated in the verification has further enhanced the operational capability and reliability of the Korean submarine."
Lieutenant Commander Brittany Bourgeois, a Canadian crew member who boarded the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, said of the exercise: "It was a rare opportunity to operate in an unfamiliar submarine environment with the highly capable Korean Navy and to exchange tactics and perspectives that will directly enhance our own capabilities."
In Canada, government support troops including Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Commissioner Lee Yong-cheol and Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Kim Kyung-ryul have joined the bid effort and are actively engaged. Combined with favorable local media coverage, observers say South Korea has taken another step closer in the competition and is gaining momentum.
Local experts also rate Hanwha Ocean's guarantee of fast delivery as its top strength. Hanwha Ocean has presented a delivery plan under which, if a contract is signed in 2026, it would deliver four KSS-III submarines first by 2035 and then add one per year, supplying a total of 12 vessels by 2043. By contrast, German rival TKMS has offered a model that is still in the design stage.
