Private company

TKMS

Logo: TKMS AG & Co. KGaA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

German naval vessel company

TKMS AG & Co. KGaA (ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems) is a group and holding company of providers of naval vessels, surface ships and submarines. It was founded when large industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp acquired Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in January 2005.2 It employed 9,100 people in 2025.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

Jan 5, 2005Founded1
  • Industryshipbuilding1
  • HeadquartersEssen1
  • Founded inKiel1
  • Websitewww.tkmsgroup.com
  • Legal formAG & Co. KGaA1
  • Slogan“Your Maritime Powerhouse”1
  • Kind of organizationPartnership limited by shares1
  • LEI529900W81B194B0E00783
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusIssued and current3
  • Registered addressthyssenkrupp Allee 1, 45143 Essen, Germany3
  • Registered withLocal Court Essen, HRB 370393

TKMS AG & Co. KGaA (ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems) is a group and holding company of providers of naval vessels, surface ships and submarines. It was founded when large industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp acquired Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in January 2005.2

Corporate structure

TKMS sits at the top of its group. 4 entities, 2 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

The corporation opened a branch office in Karachi, Pakistan on 25 July 2007. By January 2009, it had become one of the biggest private shipbuilding companies in Pakistan.

In 2017 the Israeli government and TKMS signed a deal for three Dakar-class submarines. Allegations of corruption surrounding the deal have led to the formation of an Israeli governmental committee of inquiry and subsequent prosecution for corruption.

In 2021, TKMS received the biggest order in its history, worth €5.5 billion for six identical Type 212CD submarines (in partnership with Kongsberg Gruppen) for the German and Norwegian navies. In January 2021, ThyssenKrupp confirmed the acquisition of the Oceana shipyard in Itajaí, Brazil, becoming the company's first shipyard in Latin America, with the objective of building the new Brazilian Tamandaré-class frigates.

In 2023, TKMS signed a memorandum of understanding with India's Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, with the value of the agreement expected to be about 7 billion euros.

Also in 2023, the German government signalled that it was prepared to back a sale of TKMS by taking a supporting minority stake. Since 2024, ThyssenKrupp has been running a dual-track process for TKMS, which could result in either a sale or spin-off of the division. In June 2024, private equity firm Carlyle and German development bank KfW entered into negotiations to jointly acquire a majority stake in TKMS. By October 2024, Carlyle abandoned the negotiations.

In 2024, TKMS and German peer NVL formed a joint venture to primarily build F127 frigates.

In July 2025, the German government reached a preliminary agreement with ThyssenKrupp on getting a right of approval if a stake of 25% or more were to be sold in TKMS following a spin-off; in addition, the government would have a pre-emptive right if ThyssenKrupp were to sell a stake of 5% or more to a third party.

In August 2025, TKMS lost out against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on a landmark $6.5 billion deal to supply the Royal Australian Navy with new frigates. That same month, it became one of the two finalists, along with Hanwha Ocean, under consideration for a contract to deliver up to twelve submarines to the Royal Canadian Navy. In July 2026, it was selected as the preferred supplier for the Canadian contract. In July 2026, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney selected TKMS over South Korea's Hanwha Ocean for the country's multi-billion dollar submarine fleet construction contract.

Read the full text

In January 2026, TKMS submitted a non-binding bid for smaller competitor German Naval Yards (GNYK).

From Wikipedia’s article on TKMS, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Products and brands

Planned replacements

Ongoing bids and potential sales in new submarine purchase programmes.

From Wikipedia’s article on TKMS, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Subsidiaries and ownership

Owners

Subsidiaries

From Wikidata.1

Acquisitions

  1. 2005Acquired Blohm+Voss1
  2. 2005Acquired Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft1

Employees over time

  • 20259,1001

Timeline

  1. Jan 5, 2005Founded Founded in Kiel1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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