Thai Navy Awards 16.73 Billion Baht Frigate Contract to Hanwha Ocean
South Korea's Hanwha Ocean has won a 16.73-billion-baht contract to build a high-performance frigate for the Royal Thai Navy, which selected the company through a transparent procurement process involving six bidders.
BANGKOK — 18 September 2026, The Royal Thai Navy has selected South Korea's Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd. to build a high-performance frigate under a 16.73-billion-baht procurement project, saying the selection process was conducted transparently and in accordance with relevant regulations.
At a press conference at the Chao Phraya Room of the Royal Thai Navy Auditorium at 11:00 on Friday, Royal Thai Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Pairoj Fueangchan and officials responsible for the project announced the result.
Rear Admiral Parat Rattanachaiphan, spokesperson for the Royal Thai Navy, said the project aims to procure one high-performance frigate along with onboard systems and equipment, spare parts, tools, documentation, logistical support, testing, training, acceptance procedures, warranties and other related expenses.
The project has a budget ceiling of 17 billion baht.
The procurement forms part of the Navy's long-term force development plan under its white paper. The new frigate is intended to replace ageing vessels that will gradually be decommissioned and support missions including safeguarding national sovereignty, protecting maritime transportation routes, economic areas, energy resources and critical infrastructure.
The vessel is also expected to support operations against maritime threats both now and in the future.
According to the Navy, the frigate will have capabilities covering three major areas of naval warfare: surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and air defence. It will also be capable of attacking land targets, countering unmanned aerial vehicles, command and control, data-link operations and joint operations in modern combat environments.
The Navy said operational requirements were determined based on missions, operating areas and potential threats, rather than being tailored to any particular company, manufacturing country, brand or vessel design.
Eleven firms received bidding documents
The Navy invited 11 shipyards and organisations from several countries with relevant experience to obtain the project's terms of reference (TOR). Six submitted bids.
The Navy said the TOR had undergone a public consultation and review process, with no complaints from bidders during the TOR preparation stage.
The evaluation criteria were announced in advance. They separated mandatory minimum requirements that all bidders had to meet from areas subject to comparison and scoring.
The criteria covered vessel capabilities, mission readiness, survivability, logistics and technical support, bidder reliability, technology transfer and promotion of Thailand's defence industry.
The Navy said it did not base its decision solely on the lowest price or the superiority of any individual system. Instead, it evaluated the overall suitability of each vessel, reliability of submitted information, lifetime support, value for money and the benefits to Thailand.
Four bids fail technical requirements
The Navy said there were legal restrictions on disclosing detailed information from the evaluation process.
