Court approves Netherlands' €5.6 billion submarine deal with France

The Dutch government can order four new submarines from the French company Naval in a deal involving 5.6 billion euros, the court in The Hague ruled on Wednesday in a case filed by a German competitor.

The Netherlands’ current submarines are due for replacement and upgrade. The Ministry of Defence wants to purchase four new vessels from the French shipbuilder Naval.

Another candidate, the German ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, was so displeased about losing the tender that it took the matter to court. But the court declared ThyssenKrupp’s objections invalid, ruling that the government didn’t dismiss the German company’s tender unfairly.

Part of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, was also very unhappy with the decision to go with Naval, NU.nl reports. The PVV, VVD, and SGP found it a terrible idea for the Dutch navy to buy its submarines from abroad. They would have preferred that Dutch shipping companies played a bigger role in the purchase to keep important knowledge in the Netherlands.

The Gorinchem company Damen Shipyards tendered together with the Swedish Saab but lost to Naval. Incidentally, Naval is collaborating with the Dutch Royal IHC from Kinderdijk. But the critics find the Dutch business’s role too limited.