Hanwha Ocean, a South Korean shipbuilder, announced on Friday that it had added a comprehensive finance deal to its bid to sell submarines to Poland.

Poland wants to purchase three submarines as part of its "Orka", programme, to expand its military in order to counter what the country believes is an increasing threat from Russia after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Polish media reported that Germany, Italy, and Sweden, all NATO and EU members, were the frontrunners for this multi-billion dollar programme. A decision is expected to be made later in the year.

Hanwha Ocean offers its KSS-III Batch-2 vessel, the first of which could be delivered as early as next decade. It also offers an older KSS-I sub, used by the South Korean Navy, as a "gap-filler" or interim solution for the Polish Navy to begin training as early as 2028.

Jaemin Kim from Hanwha Ocean's Orka program manager told a Warsaw press conference that the proposal was based on three main areas: providing strong financial support, enhancing Poland's defense capabilities and deepening industrial collaboration with Polish partners.

He added, "We are aware that finance is an important enabler for the Orka program, and we have already begun working with the Korean government to develop a tailored financing package for Poland. The new Korean government is also committed to supporting defense exports."

Hanwha Ocean stated in a release that the commercial bank financing, which was the result of a global tender, is not dependent on EU funds. Hanwha Ocean also added that long-term financial tools supported by the South Korean Government were being considered in parallel.

Kim said that Hanwha Ocean could deliver the first KSS-III submarine in six years from the date of signing the contract, which is one of the fastest timelines for the industry.

Our base proposal envisages the delivery of each subsequent submarine every 12-18 months. If the Polish Navy so desires, we could accelerate the delivery schedule of the second and the third submarines. This would potentially reduce the overall programme timeline. (Reporting and editing by Mark Potter.)

(source: Reuters)