Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, one of the nation’s top three heavy industry players, won an order to build a $230 million battleship for Norway, officials said Sunday.

The ship, which is to become the largest warship in the history of the Northern European state, will be delivered to the Norwegian Navy by September 2016.

Its key function is to procure and supply material for the navy as well as to protect private merchant ships out in the open seas.

This was a second warship order for the company after winning an order from the United Kingdom Navy in March last year to build four combat support ships.

“The recommendation of the U.K. government, which was impressed by DSME’s project implementation capacities, influenced the Norwegian government in making its choice,” said a company official.

It is also significant that Norway was one of the countries which supplied medical ships to Korea during the Korean War back in the 1950s, the official added.

The Korean Navy and its related organizations, such as the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, and the Defense Intelligence Agency, also, contributed to the successful bid.

“Following the prosperity of the marine resource development business, the demands for battleships are also on the rise,” said DSME CEO Ko Jae-ho.

“As the nation’s first-ever warship exporter, DSME will continue to boost the defense business sector as one of its key growth engines.”

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)