TKMS and Skaramangas Shipyards have entered into a comprehensive and exclusive agreement to jointly execute the Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) program for the four HDW Class 214 submarines of the Hellenic Navy. By working directly with TKMS as Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), the Hellenic Navy ensures full system compatibility, seamless integration of upgraded technologies, and uninterrupted access to critical technical data and spare parts — significantly reducing technical and programmatic risk while safeguarding operational readiness. The agreement places strong emphasis on local industrial participation. A substantial portion of MLU activities will be carried out domestically, creating highly skilled jobs, enabling advanced technology transfer, and strengthening Greece’s sovereign capabilities in naval defense. The planned upgrades are designed to enhance interoperability, enable the integration of advanced combat systems and align the fleet with evolving European defense initiatives and standards. In this context, the program supports long-term strategic planning, including potential future acquisitions of next-generation submarine platforms and the adoption of common systems that enhance operational cohesion across the fleet. The partnership is designed to deliver the MLU program while also establishing a sustainable industrial foundation for future maintenance, upgrades, and potential new construction programs.
Thomas Keupp, Chief Sales Officer at TKMS: “By combining TKMS’s unmatched OEM expertise with powerful local industrial participation, the program ensures that Greece’s naval defense capabilities remain robust, future-proof and fully supported.”
Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, CEO of Skaramangas Shipyards, added: “This collaboration represents a major step forward for the Greek shipbuilding industry and for the country’s defense ecosystem, building on the long-standing relationship between TKMS and the Hellenic Navy.”
The Type 214 is a class of diesel–electric submarines developed exclusively for export by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW).[1] It features diesel propulsion with an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system using polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) hydrogen fuel cells from Siemens Energy. The class combines the design principles of the Type 209 submarine family and the features of the Type 212A submarine. However, as an export design, it lacks some of the classified technologies of the Type 212 such as the non-magnetic steel hull that makes it difficult to detect using a magnetic anomaly detector. Due to improvements in the pressure hull materials, the Type 214 can dive nearly 400 metres (1,300 ft). It can also carry food, fresh water and fuel for 84 days of operation. A contract to build four submarines for the Hellenic Navy was signed 15 February 2000 and a fourth unit was ordered in June 2002. The first submarine was built at HDW in Kiel, Germany and the rest at the Hellenic Shipyards Co. in Skaramangas, Greece. The Hellenic Navy named them the Papanikolis class.
Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (often abbreviated HDW) was a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. The Howaldtswerke shipyard was founded in Kiel in 1838 and merged with Hamburg-based Deutsche Werft to form Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in 1968. The company’s shipyard was formerly used by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft until the end of World War II. 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.
