Taiwan Navy News

South Korean authorities cited the risk of Chinese economic retaliation when they charged marine technology firm SI Innotec last year with violating trade laws for its work on Taiwan's new military submarine program, according to a police document seen by Reuters and two people familiar with the matter.In a Feb. 17, 2022, affidavit to a judge seeking the arrest of SI Innotec executive director Park Mal-sik, police said authorities feared a repeat of the sweeping sanctions imposed by Beijing in 2016, after Seoul decided to install THAAD, a U.S. anti-missile system.

Taiwan's navy took delivery on Friday of a new, domestically made amphibious warfare ship that can be used to land troops and bolster supply lines to vulnerable islands, part of President Tsai Ing-wen's defense self-sufficiency push. The 10,600-tonne Yu Shan, named after Taiwan's tallest mountain, is the latest development in Tsai's ambitious program to modernize the armed forces amid increased pressure from China, which claims the island as its own.Speaking at the delivery ceremony in the southern port city of Kaohsiung…

A chill wind whips across the Taiwan Strait as a small group of Taiwanese marines stands shivering on a remote dock in the early hours of the morning, their shorts and thin jackets drenched after a day spent mostly in the sea.“Are you a sleeping beauty? Are you skipping out on class?” a trainer shouts at the wiry men, who have barely slept in days, as they do sit-ups and other exercises on the rough concrete floor, some fading in and out of consciousness from fatigue.Blasts of…

Canada’s Irving Shipbuilding has cited Thordon Bearings as one of a number of partners playing a pivotal role in ensuring the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) are capable of environmentally sustainable operations.The first two in a series of six twin-screw vessels entrusted to Irving Shipbuilding, have been put to water with Thordon’s COMPAC water lubricated propeller shaft bearings, which the shipbuilder says are “environmentally progressive” resulting in “zero risk of pollution”.In a recent article…

The Taiwan Navy plans to put its first locally designed stealth missile corvette and a new locally manufactured supply vessel into service late next month, says a press statement. There will be a ceremony to formally put the corvette Tuo Jiang and supply vessel Panshih into service is scheduled to take place in late March at the navy’s Zuoying base in Kaohsiung. Training on the 502-ton Tuo Jiang began after the corvette was officially delivered to the Navy by local shipbuilder Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co. at a ceremony held Dec. 23 at a commercial harbor in Suao, eastern Taiwan. The twin-hulled Hsun-hai class corvette is equipped with several weapons, including the locally developed Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles, a 76 mm gun and Mark 46 torpedoes, the Navy said.

Taiwanese boat builder Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (LTS) has recently won the contract to deliver a series of patrol boats to an unspecified government in South East Asia. The first boat in the series will be delivered early 2015. The boats have 19 m long aluminum hulls equipped with twin MJP DRB 400 waterjets coupled to MAN 1,650 hp engines and will reach speed of about 50 knots. They also have beaching capability. Since the vessels are expected to have a very high number of annual working hours, the customer specified equipment with an emphasis on low life cycle cost.

China Ship Building Corporation (CSBC) is in talks with United States’ General Electric (GE) to establish a naval shiprepair facility in Kaohsiung. General Electric provides the gas turbines for the Taiwanese navy. CSBC spokesman Paul Huang said the yard was looking to sign an agreement with the American giant in July and to have a facility adjacent to the shipbuilding base in Kaohsiung up and running by year end. There are more than 30 GE built turbine engines in Taiwan’s navy including the Chengkung-class high speed patrol frigates and American Kidd class destroyers.

AP&M Field Service and Rolls-Royce Naval Marine Inc have entered into a Teaming Agreement to focus efforts on supporting Ship Transfer programs for the U.S. Navy. The program will combine the expertise of Rolls-Royce Naval Marine in servicing of shipboard Allison 501 generator sets and propeller propulsion systems with AP&M Field Services LM2500 shipboard service capabilities. A contract to support the four-ship, KIDD Class transfer program for the Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy was awarded to Rolls-Royce in May. Rolls-Royce will maintain overall program management, while AP&M Field Services provides on-site project management and LM2500 technical service.

The U.S. decision to help Taiwan buy eight diesel submarines will be a boon to the island's navy, enabling it to break any naval blockade imposed by its communist rival China. The submarines will also be a big deterrent to a Chinese attack, and perhaps more importantly, analysts say, they will give Taiwan's navy an offensive capability. "I think the decision to sell us eight submarines is a very exciting development," said military affairs academic and commentator Holmes Liao. U.S. President George W. Bush put off a possible sale of the Aegis naval air defense system to Taiwan on Monday, but offered Taiwan four Kidd-class destroyers, a dozen P-3 "Orion" submarine hunter aircraft and eight diesel submarines built in Europe.

VSE Corporation has been awarded a U.S. Navy delivery order for $8.1 million to begin reactivation availability planning services in connection with the sale and transfer of four Kidd class DDGs to the Taiwan Navy. The delivery order requires VSE to provide advance planning services, upgrades and alterations planning, towing, industrial services, services supporting the Taiwan Navy reactivation planning and management team, and reactivation site project planning support. Work will be performed by the BAV Division of VSE under BAV's ten-year, $1.1 billion Navy contract to support the reactivation and transfer of ex-U.S. Navy ships to foreign navies. of five ex-U.S. Navy ships to Taiwan. Executive Vice President and Director of VSE's International Group. to a fast start," said Mr. Knowlton.