The Marine Corps and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration held a launching ceremony for the high-speed combat boat (HCB-001) at Gangnam Co., Ltd. in Saha-gu, Busan on December 11. The high-speed combat boat is the first vessel introduced by the Marine Corps, faster and more protective than the old RIB, and equipped with powerful armaments. It has been named ‘Blue Marlin’.
The high-speed combat boat, designed and built domestically, reached the launching ceremony after signing a construction contract with Gangnam Co., Ltd. in July 2024, followed by a groundbreaking ceremony in May and a keel-laying ceremony in August this year. The launching ceremony was attended by Marine Corps Commander Joo Il-seok, Bang Guk-cheol, head of the DAPA’s Base Power Project Division, Shin Yun-gil, CEO of Gangnam Co., Ltd., and about 70 other officials from the Marine Corps, DAPA, and the shipbuilding company.
The event proceeded with the national anthem, project progress report, vessel naming announcement, commemorative speech, awards for meritorious persons, congratulatory speeches, launching, and safety navigation prayer ceremony. Commander Joo Il-seok’s wife, Park Hyun-sun, cut the launching rope connected to the vessel. Following this, the commander and other key guests cut colorful tapes and broke champagne on the hull in a safety navigation prayer ceremony.
The high-speed combat boat will undergo a test evaluation period and be delivered to the Marine Corps in December 2026, after which it will go through the power-up process and be deployed for operations.