Hanjin wins Navy contract to build new patrol boats

SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction has won a bid
to build four new high-speed patrol boats for the Navy to replace its aging
models, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Monday.

Hanjin nudged out two other competitors in the contract for the patrol boats,
equipped with guided missiles, under the PKX program. The new vessels will
replace the 150-ton Chamsuri models.
The Navy plans to procure a total of some 40 vessels by 2010, most of which will
be deployed near the inter-Korean maritime border. The first of the group, named
after late Navy lieutenant commander Yoon Young-ha, was commissioned this month
at Jinhae naval base, some 450 kilometers south of Seoul.
Four more boats are under construction by another shipbuilder, STX. Hanjin will
build the next group of four, DAPA said.
The newly ordered vessels weigh 440 tons each, and are 63 meters long and 9
meters wide. They have a maximum speed of 74 kilometers per hour with a crew of
40, and are also loaded with 76-mm and 40-mm guns and cutting-edge radar systems,
according to DAPA.
The new patrol boats are expected to be launched in 2011 and will be deployed to
the Northern Limit Line (NLL), which has served as the de facto maritime border
between the two Koreas, DAPA said in a release.
"The new PKX boats will defend national interests in the ocean, as well as boost
the economy and foster defense industries in Korea," the administration said.
Six South Korean soldiers, including Lt. Cdr. Yoon, were killed and 18 others
wounded in a naval clash with North Korea in 2002 in the Yellow Sea. More than 30
North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded.
After the incident, the South Korean Navy has come up with plans to improve
maritime combat systems under the PKX project, which aims to replace old patrol
boats.
brk@yna.co.kr
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