Hanwha Ocean is deepening its relationship with the US and is positioning itself for a possible submarine order from Saudi Arabia. The South Korea’s shipbuilder has been seeking to recover from its failure to win Canada’s next-generation submarine competition after Canada selected Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as its preferred bidder for the programme in July 2026. TKMS won the bid despite Hanwha Ocean’s KSS-III design reaching the final round ahead of competitors from France, Japan, Sweden and Spain. Hanwha Ocean remains the reserve option should Ottawa fail to conclude terms with TKMS. Closing the technology gapSiemon Wezeman, a senior researcher with