South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction (HHIC) has awarded communications systems manufacturer eMARINE Global a second contract for the delivery of its warship electronic chart display & information system (WECDIS) for new Republic of Korea Navy patrol ships.
In 2018, eMARINE Global delivered on the first phase of this project, installing its innovative WECDIS technology on the first four units.
Chamsuri II-class (project name PKX-B) patrol boats are a new, smaller, class (230-tons) of South Korean Navy patrol boats intended to replace the aging Chamsuri-class vessels built for the navy in the 1970s.
The one – PKMR 211 – was launched in July 2016 and delivered to the navy in October 2017. Further three units were delivered to the navy in December 2018.
Together with the larger PKX-A (approx. 500 tons), the PKX-B constitutes the broader class of PKX boats.
The ROK Navy has so far ordered 12 patrol ships in the class to be built by HHIC.
“We are pleased to continue our work with HHIC and the ROK Navy,” stated Ung Gyu Kim, chairman and CEO of eMarine Global. “Last year, eMarine delivered 21 new WECDIS installations for the ROK Navy and Coast Guard, dominating the defense market in Korea. In total, we’ve supplied more than 350 units of the chart-based navigation systems to the ROK government, placing us in a position of leading market share. Also, we maintain the chart-based navigation systems for 214 ships in the ROK Navy fleet.”
Once the company completes the delivery of these four patrol ships, it will begin the third and final phase of the contract, completing WECDIS installations for the remaining four new patrol ships.