Daewoo Shipbuilding fortifies Indonesia's defense with submarine delivery

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. has successfully delivered a 61-meter-long, 1,400-ton submarine to Indonesia, among the three that the shipbuilder won in a deal worth US$1.1 billion in 2011.

During the Submarine handover ceremony, Indonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto revealed that Daewoo Shipbuilding will support Indonesia's PT PAL shipyards in developing the ability to independently build submarines and establish partnerships with technology transfer and cooperation.

Named KRI Alugoro, the submarine's design was based on Daewoo Shipbuilding's first-built submarine, the DSME 1400 or Improved Chang Bogo-class.

Pieces of the submarine were built at Daewoo Shipbuilding's Okpo shipyard in Geoje Island and assembled at PT PAL shipyard in Surabaya, Indonesia.

It is the first submarine ever built in South East Asia. Subianto noted that it was the first time a shipyard owned by a national company, PT PAL, succeeded in submarine production.

The defense chief emphasized that Indonesia is building its defense capabilities not to threaten anyone but to preserve its independence.

He added that Indonesia needs sufficient strength to maintain sovereignty and protect its territorial integrity from foreign threats.