Germany's TKMS in Talks with Spain's Navantia for Submarine Construction Partnership

German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) is in discussions with Spanish shipyard Navantia regarding a strategic partnership for submarine construction.

TKMS Chief Executive Oliver Burkhard told the Handelsblatt newspaper on Monday that the company is considering utilising Navantia’s shipyard capacity for future orders. He noted that demand for Navantia’s services has been low recently, leaving its production capacity underutilised.

“We are in talks about manufacturing submarine components separately in Spain in the future, provided the customer agrees,” Burkhard said.

The TKMS chief reportedly confirmed the partnership is purely aimed at speeding up delivery times, and that there are no plans to acquire the Spanish shipyard or pursue a merger between the two companies.

The discussions come after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on 6 July that TKMS had been selected as the prime contractor for the construction of Canada’s new submarine fleet.