Following the Navy's new frigates 1, 2, and 3, it was confirmed that the same power system defect occurred in the 4th ship, the Donghae, as a result of SBS coverage.
Of the eight new Ulsan-class Batch-II frigates built with the same design and the same parts at a cost of 3.2 trillion won, four of them showed the same defects one after the other.
A high-ranking official of the Ministry of National Defense said in a phone call with SBS, "On the 9th, when the upper cover of the bearings of the Donghae ship was opened and endoscopy was conducted under the supervision of the shipyard, scratches were identified on the thrust bearings and the propulsion shaft."
The Donghae is the 4th Ulsan-class Batch-II ship that was launched after construction in April of last year, and is currently under test operation ahead of commissioning next month.
The Navy estimates that the 4th ship Donghae, like the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ships, may have been damaged due to friction between the bearings and the shaft due to insufficient lubricant supply due to corrosion of the lubricant heat exchanger.
It was confirmed that the Navy, which is taking over the Donghae next month, sent an official letter to the Defense Agency on the 23rd, requesting that the bearings of the Donghae be fully opened and thoroughly inspected.
In response, the DAPA announced that it would carry out follow-up measures, such as a complete open inspection of the bearings of the East Sea ship, according to the results of the cause analysis by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality.
The 5th ship Daejeon and 6th ship Pohang, built this year, are also in the preparation stage for test operation.
The 7th ship Cheonan will be launched at the end of next month, and the 8th ship, whose name has not been decided yet, will be launched in February and March next year, respectively.