HD Hyundai Launches Peruvian Navy Landing Ship Built at SIMA Yard

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has held a launch ceremony for Chimbote, the first of the Peruvian Navy's new landing support ships, at the SIMA shipyard in Peru, a short distance down the coast from Callao.

The ceremony was hosted directly by Keiko Fujimori, President of Peru, and attended by government officials from both countries including Rafael Belaunde, Peruvian Minister of Defense; Federico Javier Bravo de Rueda Delgado, Commander-in-Chief of the Peruvian Navy; Choi Jong-uk, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Peru; and Joo Won-ho, President of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Chimbote is the first of two landing support ships jointly constructed by HD Hyundai and SIMA. In April 2024 the Korean builder won an order from the Peruvian Navy for four naval vessels in total, comprising a frigate, an offshore patrol vessel and the two landing support ships, and began simultaneous construction of the pair. The second ship, Talara, completed all land-based construction processes at the beginning of this month. Both are multipurpose vessels intended for personnel and materiel transport, logistics support and disaster response, and both are named after major Peruvian port cities.

The commercial structure is the notable element. Rather than delivering finished ships built in Korea, HD Hyundai provided design and technical support while SIMA used its local facilities for block production, assembly, outfitting, testing and commissioning. That shifts a naval export from product supply toward an engineering and technology transfer arrangement, a model with obvious relevance as more governments require local construction of ordered warships.

Government-level support underpinned the project. Korea's Ministry of National Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration promoted cooperation with the Peruvian government, while the Korean embassy in Peru and KOTRA drew on local networks in support of the bid.

Fujimori said: "We are not simply constructing a single naval vessel, but we are building capabilities for the future," adding that the project was contributing to job creation, human resources development and the expansion of supply chains related to the shipbuilding industry. Joo Won-ho described the launch as an achievement of what he called Team Korea, realised through the unification of the public and private sectors, and said the company would diversify its export markets by enhancing the competitiveness of Korean-designed ships.