Hanwha Ocean defeated by Germany’s TKMS in Canada submarine deal

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, waves as he and Diana Fox Carney board a government plane in Ottawa, Monday. AP-Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

• Published Jul 7, 2026 5:42 AM KST
• Updated Jul 7, 2026 6:34 AM KST

Hanwha Ocean has lost its bid to supply Canada’s next-generation submarine fleet, after Ottawa selected Germany’s TKMS as the preferred bidder for the megaproject, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday.

The decision marks a major setback for the Korean shipbuilder in Canada's 60 trillion won ($39.2 billion) project to replace the Royal Canadian Navy's aging fleet of four Victoria-class submarines with 12 new 3,000-ton diesel-electric vessels. The program also includes long-term maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services.

Carney formally announced the selection of TKMS before his departure for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders' summit in Turkey.

"This was a difficult, close decision between two highly qualified suppliers. Both the TKMS and Hanwha platforms met the capabilities of the Royal Canadian Navy, and both put forward strong proposals,” he said in his speech in Halifax, Canada’s largest Atlantic coastal city.

Hanwha Ocean pitched a variant of its 3,000-ton KSS-III Batch-II submarine. The vessel, developed for the Korean Navy, features fuel-cell propulsion and lithium-ion batteries, allowing it to remain submerged for over three weeks.

The company also proposed delivering the first submarine by 2032, citing its ability to meet an accelerated delivery schedule, while saying the project would generate about 70 billion Canadian dollars in economic opportunities by 2044.

However, TKMS — leveraging a joint bid backed by Norway — secured the advantage by promising a larger economic package and emphasizing its deep integration as a NATO ally supplying European navies.