Analyst says Ottawa should pick German sub builder over South Korean rival

Prime Minister Mark Carney climbs out of a 212A class submarine under maintenance as he tours ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), a submarine building facility in Kiel, Germany, on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

OTTAWA — A new report comparing the two contenders for Canada’s submarine contract cautions that Hanwha’s subs will likely have to be modified to meet Canadian operational requirements.

The report lands days before Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to visit a Hanwha facility in South Korea, and a week before a major maritime defence industry conference arrives in Ottawa.

The report, by analyst Stewart Webb of Defence Report, says Ottawa has framed the procurement in terms of the economic benefits and jobs the sub builders could bring to Canada — but they are selling two very different types of submarines.

The report says the political discussion surrounding the subs hasn’t touched on issues such as in-service support, whether Canada should acquire the capability to vertically launch ballistic missiles, and the extent to which Ottawa may have to revise designs to fit the navy’s requirements.

Carney announced in August that his government had narrowed the field down to two rival bidders: South Korea’s Hanwha Oceans and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, or TKMS.

Last week, senior officials from TKMS and the German and Norwegian governments were in Ottawa on a charm offensive trying to sell Canada on the German-made 212CD subs just ahead of Carney’s visit to Korea.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2025.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press