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Germany’s TKMS beats Hanwha Ocean for Canada submarine deal: Canadian media

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By Jhoo Dong-chan
  • Published KST
The Royal Canadian Navy hosts the Republic of Korea Navy KSS-III submarine, known as Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, and the ROKS Daejeon frigate during a welcoming ceremony at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in Esquimalt, British Columbia, May 25. AP-Yonhap

The Royal Canadian Navy hosts the Republic of Korea Navy KSS-III submarine, known as Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, and the ROKS Daejeon frigate during a welcoming ceremony at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in Esquimalt, British Columbia, May 25. AP-Yonhap

Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) has been selected as the preferred bidder to build Canada's next fleet of submarines, according to Canadian media outlet The Globe and Mail on Monday.

The decision is expected to deal a setback to Korea's Hanwha Ocean in a contract that could be worth up to $100 billion over three decades.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to formally announce the decision in Halifax before his departure for the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The announcement would name a preferred bidder rather than finalize a signed contract, with negotiations expected to continue for months or longer.

The program, known as the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, will replace Canada's aging Victoria-class fleet with as many as 12 new diesel-electric submarines.

Hanwha Ocean had reportedly offered a version of its KSS-III Batch-II submarine, a 3,000-ton-class vessel developed for the Republic of Korea Navy that uses fuel-cell propulsion and lithium-ion batteries to stay submerged for more than three weeks. The company had pledged more than $50 billion in economic impact and proposed delivering the first submarine by 2032.

TKMS, competing with a joint bid backed by Norway, had promised a larger economic package and emphasized its longstanding role as a NATO ally supplying submarines to European navies.

A loss would mark a second major setback for Hanwha against TKMS after Korea's shipbuilder withdrew from India's Project-75I submarine program, which TKMS later won with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders.

It would also be a blow to Korea's broader push to expand defense exports into North America, following recent moves by Hanwha Group into U.S. shipbuilding and defense partnerships.