HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has launched a new landing support ship in Peru, marking its first successful co-construction of a naval vessel at an overseas site.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180.KS) said on the 19th that it recently held a launch ceremony for the Chimbote, the first of the Peruvian Navy's new landing support ships, at the SIMA shipyard in Peru.
Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori personally presided over the ceremony, which was attended by Peruvian Navy Commander Federico Javier Bravo de Rueda, South Korean Ambassador to Peru Choi Jong-wook, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries President Joo Won-ho and other officials.
The Chimbote is the first of two landing support ships among a total of four vessels — including frigates and offshore patrol ships — that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries won from the Peruvian Navy in April 2024. The second ship, the Talara, also completed its onshore construction earlier this month. The two multipurpose landing support ships will carry out a range of missions, including personnel and cargo transport, logistics support and disaster response, and are named after major Peruvian port cities.
The project is seen as presenting a new export model for Korean-built naval vessels. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries provided the design and technical support while the SIMA shipyard used its local production facilities to take part in block production, assembly, outfitting and sea trials. This shifted the very concept of naval exports from "domestic construction followed by delivery of a finished product" to "local co-production through technical cooperation." According to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the project also carries significance in developing naval work beyond simple shipbuilding into an engineering business.
Government support and public-private cooperation also played a key role in the project. The Ministry of National Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration pursued cooperation with the Peruvian government to support HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' vessel exports. The South Korean Embassy in Peru and KOTRA also backed the project by drawing on communication with the Peruvian government and local networks.
"We are not simply building a ship, but building capabilities for the future," Fujimori said, adding that the project is also contributing to job creation, human resource development and the expansion of supply chains related to the shipbuilding industry.
President Joo also stressed, "The launch of the Chimbote can be called a Team Korea achievement made possible by the public and private sectors coming together," adding, "We will strengthen the competitiveness of Korean-built naval vessels and diversify our export markets."
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is currently carrying out the basic design of a 1,500-ton next-generation submarine for the Peruvian Navy and is continuing cooperation with the Peruvian government to begin construction of the lead ship immediately after the design is completed.
