Kockums co-operates with Japanese shipyard in mine warfare sector

Kockums, the Swedish subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, has signed a licensing agreement with the Japanese shipyard Universal Shipbuilding Corporation (USC). 

The licensing agreement gives USC the right to use Kockums' GRP-sandwich technology in the production of hull structures for mine countermeasure vessels (MCMVs). USC has a long tradition in this sector and has built more than 100 MCMVs in wood. The new MCMVs are built to a Japanese design, based on the earlier vessels, but will now use composites instead of wood for the hulls. USC has now also signed the first production contract.

The project is positive for Kockums in several respects, and we are naturally proud to have been chosen. It is highly significant that such a professional customer, after exhaustive analysis, should choose the Kockums concept for its next-generation vessels. We look forward to successful cooperation with the company. It is an important export order for us, states Kockums CEO Jan-Olof Johansson, commenting on the news. 

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems AG, with its head office in Hamburg, Germany, is part of ThyssenKrupp Technologies AG within the ThyssenKrupp Group. With its technological competence, extensive portfolio and continuous innovations the corporate group, being the umbrella organisation for shipyards in Germany, Sweden and Greece and various marine engineering companies, represents one of the leading systems houses in European shipbuilding.

Kockums stands for leading edge, world-class naval technology – on and below the surface. We design and build submarines and naval surface vessels that incorporate the most advanced stealth technology. Other successful products include the Stirling Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, the Kockums Submarine Rescue System (URF) and mine clearance systems. Operations are based in Sweden, in Malmö, on the island of Muskö and in Karlskrona.