Vietnam's Large Submarine Rescue Ship Revealed

189 One Member Company Limited (Z189) is a unit under the General Department of Defense Industry. Along with Song Thu Corporation, this is one of the large establishments cooperating with the Dutch Damen Shipbuilding Group.

Z189 has built many large, modern ships under contracts with foreign countries. Typical examples include the multi-purpose training ship MV Sycamore with a displacement of 2,400 tons, or the pair of submarine rescue ships Besant 2,100 tons and Stoker 2,600 tons under contracts with the Royal Australian Navy.

The successful construction and timely delivery of a high-quality specialized ship to a foreign partner is the premise for Company 189 to move forward with the manufacture of similar ship models to serve the needs of the Vietnam Navy.

As is known, our underwater combat force is currently quite strong with a fleet of 6 Kilo 636 submarines. To maintain combat capability, a fleet of support ships such as logistics ships and especially submarine rescue ships is indispensable.

Previously, there were some opinions that when buying submarines from Russia, Vietnam should also buy submarine rescue ships produced by Moscow to synchronize equipment, in order to facilitate technical logistics work.

But reality has shown that submarine rescue ships do not necessarily have to be synchronized with submarines, especially when Vietnam has mastered extremely modern manufacturing technology and produced a pair of highly appreciated rescue ships.

Responding to the expectations of those interested in the country's military situation, at the 9th International Exhibition on Shipbuilding, Maritime and Offshore Engineering Technology - Vietship 2018, a large submarine rescue ship model built by 189 One Member Co., Ltd. for the Vietnam Navy was officially introduced.

Looking at the exterior design of this specialized ship, it can be seen that it has many similarities with the prototype RGS 9316 (which is the Stoker submarine rescue ship that Z189 built for the Australian Navy), except that the helicopter landing deck is moved forward.

All remaining parameters such as length 93 m; width 16 m; height 5.85 m are completely similar to RGS 9316. Modifying the design of RGS 9316 according to Vietnam's own requirements is a great innovation, bearing the unique identity of our defense industry.