The Republic of Korea Navy's submarine Dosan Ahn Chang-ho (SS-III) on May 23 arrives at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in Victoria, Canada. (Republic of Korea Navy)

By Lee Dasom

The Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy's 3,000-ton submarine Dosan Ahn Chang-ho (SS-III), which was independently designed and built with domestic technology, is the country's first submarine to cross the Pacific Ocean.

The Navy on May 24 said the submarine and the frigate ROKS Daejeon (FFG) arrived at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt on May 23 in Victoria, western Canada, to take part in a joint naval exercise.

The submarine on March 25 left Jinhae Naval Base in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, and traveled 14,000 km through Guam and Hawaii before reaching the base, going on the longest voyage by a Korean naval submarine

The Navy said the trans-Pacific voyage "demonstrated (the submarine's) operational capabilities through its ocean voyages based on living comforts best in its class and stellar equipment reliability."

In Hawaii, two crew members from the Royal Canadian Navy's submarine command boarded the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho and participated in navigation and training while communicating with Canada's Pacific naval command.

The ROK Navy said, "This was an opportunity to directly show Canada the outstanding operational capabilities and habitability of Republic of Korea submarines, demonstrating the deep trust and interoperability between our two navies."

dlektha0319@korea.kr