[E-Daily Reporter Park Sun-Yeop ] Hanwha Ocean is plummeting in pre-market trading following news that it was not selected as the preferred bidder for Canada’s Next-Generation Submarine Program (CPSP).
According to the alternative trading system (ATS) Nextrade (NXT) on the 7th, Hanwha Ocean(042660)was trading at 96,500 won in pre-market trading at 8:30 a.m. today, down 19,600 won (16.88%) from the previous trading day. At the same time, HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES(329180)was trading at 550,000 won, down 33,000 won (5.66%).

Earlier, on the 6th (local time), Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced at the Halifax Naval Base in Nova Scotia that Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) had been selected as the preferred bidder for the CPSP project. The project is reportedly valued at up to 60 trillion won, including the costs of building 12 submarines and maintaining, servicing, and operating them over a 30-year period.
Prime Minister Carney explained, “Should negotiations with TKMS break down, Canada reserves the right to designate Hanwha Ocean, the alternate supplier, as the preferred supplier and proceed with negotiations.” He added, “Both TKMS and Hanwha’s platforms met the Canadian Navy’s stringent requirements,” suggesting that the competition for the contract remained fierce until the very end.
It is understood that this decision took into account not only submarine performance but also alliance relations and economic benefits. Prime Minister Carney stated that, under the terms of the contract, an amount equivalent to 100% of the investment will be reinvested within Canada. He also explained that TKMS had proposed allocating a portion of the orders placed by the German and Norwegian navies to Canada first, enabling Canada to receive the first four submarines in 2034—earlier than originally planned.
He also emphasized that TKMS currently supplies one-third of the submarines to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Consequently, analysts suggest that NATO interoperability and the “alliance premium” played a greater role than the fast delivery schedule and economic cooperation proposals put forward by the South Korean side.
South Korea waged an all-out joint civilian-military campaign for this contract, including dispatching the ROKS Dosan Ahn Chang-ho to Canada. Hanwha Ocean proposed delivering the first submarine by 2032 and promised to create approximately 70 billion Canadian dollars in economic opportunities by 2044, but it was unable to overcome the barrier posed by the German-Norwegian alliance.
However, some analysts in the securities industry argue that this outcome should not be viewed merely as a defeat. Yang Seung-yoon, an analyst at EUGENE INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, stated, “Although we hit a wall with NATO this time, opportunities will eventually open up for South Korea as we continue to knock on that door,” adding, “We must use this as an opportunity to elevate the competitiveness of South Korea’s defense exports to the next level through international joint development, local production, and the establishment of long-term MRO and military logistics support systems.”