The Korean company promises fast delivery while Canada shrinks for a submarine contract

Competition to build the new fleet of Canada submarines started a notch on Wednesday with the South Korean tenderer reiterating her commitment to deliver more boats faster than her German rival.

Hanwha Ocean Ltd., in a statement, expressed his assessment for the decision of the Liberal government this week to reduce the field of bidders to two shipyards.

The other competitor of the program, potentially more than $ 20 billion, is Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) in Kiel, Germany.

The announcement of a decrease in the decrease – four to two tenderers – was made by Prime Minister Mark Carney while he met the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.

Later in the day, Carney visited the TKMS shipyard and undertook to visit the South Korean facilities this fall.

Hanwha Ocean and TKMS were chosen because the expressions of interest of the two companies “met the bar” in terms of capacities and the type of submarine required by the Canadian Navy, said Carney.

The South Korean manufacturer presents the KSS-III and submitted a detailed and unsolicited proposal to the Canadian government in early March, just before the last federal elections.

In his statement, Hanwha Ocean stressed that with his partner Hyundai Heavy Industries Ltd., Canada can get its fleet more quickly and potentially save money.

“Hanwha can deliver four KSS-III CPS to fully replace the current Victoria class fleet of Canada before 2035 if under contract in 2026,” said the company.

Canada is expecting its naval manufacturer chosen to deliver the first submarine by 2035.

Hanwha Ocean believes that an earlier retirement from the Flotte of aging submarines of Canada would lead to about 1 billion dollars in savings “on maintenance and support costs.”

Competing tournaments

Germany TKMS declared, in its presentation to Carney and to the members of its cabinet in Kiel on Tuesday, that it could provide a submarine by 2034 and a second by 2037.

The Korean company has attempt in its declaration on Wednesday, not only claiming that he could deliver the first four before the retirement of the old fleet, but the other eight could be delivered at a rate of one year – which means that the entire fleet of 12 submarines could be ready by 2043.

“No other option can get closer to this delivery schedule,” the Hanwha Ocean statement said.

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The liberal government has prioritized Canada’s trade relations, including strengthening the economy by reconstructing the industrial defense base.

The Hanwha Ocean called on this aspect by saying that it was determined to “establish a robust and long -term partnership” with the Government and the Canada Industry “in the fields of defense, space, sustainable energy and critical minerals”.

Carney said he was attached to a fair and transparent selection process. A senior government official, accompanying the Prime Minister during his European trip, said the federal cabinet was debating complete and more detailed proposals – or simply starting negotiations with a preferred tenderer.

A decision on the company will obtain the contract is not expected that next year at the earliest.

Defense Minister David McGuinty said there were a lot of factors to consider and the delivery schedule was part of it.

“I do not know if it will be the determinant,” said McGuinty on Wednesday during the visit of the Canadian troops deployed in the NATO mission in Latvia.

“Speed ​​will be a factor; interoperability will be another. Use in terms of Canadian priorities, for example in the Arctic, will be another; industrial advantages for Canada will be important in all proposals.”

One of the reasons why TKMS can only offer two or three submarines during the dozens of next years is that it is already engaged in the construction of 12 boats for Germany and Norway.

South Korean defense experts emphasize that Europe still finds a rearmament after more than 30 years of defense production lines in night ball.

Kayla Mijung Kim, of the Korean Institute of Economics and Industrial Trade, told CBC News in Seoul last spring that the supply chain in Europe was low.

“Germany and France, for example, want to do their own weapons systems, but they are forced,” she said. “They cannot obtain all the defense components they need in European countries. I think they need time.”

The bottlenecks of production – an aspect that presented itself clearly while the countries rushed to arm Ukraine – have pushed certain NATO allies to seek elsewhere.