DSME launches first 1,400 ton submarine for Indonesia

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) held a launching ceremony for the first 1,400 ton submarine to be supplied overseas from Korea at its Okpo Shipyard, Geoje, South Gyeongsang on Thursday.

The launch comes after the shipbuilder won the $1.1 billion bid proposed by the Defense Ministry of Indonesia in 2011 to build three 1,400 ton submarines.

Related officials including General Ryamizard Ryacudu, Minister of Defense of Indonesia, DSME CEO Jung Sung-leep and representatives of two countries’ Navy were present at the ceremony. “Supplying submarines, the strategic arms to defense, has cemented trust between the two countries,” said Jung Sung-leep.

The 61-meter sub can move 10,000 nautical miles without stopping, roughly the round-trip distance between ports in Busan, Korea and Los Angeles, United States.

The actual delivery of the submarines will begin from March next year after a year of testing by the Indonesian marines. The delivery is due to be completed by 2018.

The submarines will be used to defend Indonesia’s territorial sea and maintain its maritime security for more than 30 years.