Royal Care
Prince Edward of Britain visited Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's (DSME) Okpo Shipyard on Nov. 2.
Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son, looked over the work on four Britain's Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS Project) ships being built by the company. Prince Edward, who served in Royal Marines after he graduated from university, has now taken on the role of honorary Commander of the Royal Navy.
DSME CEO Ko Jae-ho greeted Prince Edward and Scott Wightman, British ambassador to South Korea, and showed them manufacturing facilities at the shipyard and the current status of battleship construction for four hours.
The DSME received the MARS project orders in last 2012, which was the first time for an overseas shipbuilder to sign a contract with the British Royal Navy. The DSME is currently building four ships for the MARS project, which are expected by 2017.
The DSME and the British Royal Navy have been continuing close cooperation. One example is the order of a Norwegian battleship given to the DSME in 2013. The British government recommended the DSME to the Norwegian navy, which greatly helped to win the munitions support ship order, which is the largest Norwegian naval project in history.
In July of last year, at the request of the British government, the company won a contract to provide management consulting services to BAE Systems Surface Ship, which is in charge of the whole vessel area business.
CEO Ko said, “We are promoting defense industry exports overseas with help from the global network of the British Royal navy and its active cooperation,” adding, “We will repay their trust by delivering the best quality battleship on time.”