Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, commonly abbreviated HDW, was a German shipbuilding company headquartered in Kiel. Its corporate identity was created in 1968 through the merger of the Kiel-based Howaldtswerke shipyard with Deutsche Werft of Hamburg. The company’s industrial roots, however, reach back to 1838, when engineer August Howaldt and entrepreneur Johann Schweffel established Maschinenbauanstalt und Eisengießerei Schweffel & Howaldt in Kiel. The original business focused on machinery, boilers, and ironworking before developing into a major shipbuilder. The early company participated in the transition from sail and small craft to steam-powered vessels. In 1849 it produced a steam engine for naval use aboard the gunboat Von der Tann, and in 1850 it built Brandtaucher, an early submarine designed by Wilhelm Bauer. The first vessel constructed under the Howaldtswerke name was the small steamer Vorwärts, launched in 1865. As Germany expanded its maritime and naval capabilities, the yard grew rapidly; by the beginning of the twentieth century it had completed roughly 390 ships. It also established an Adriatic subsidiary in Fiume, now Rijeka, in 1892, although that operation closed about a decade later. Kiel’s importance as a base of the Imperial German Navy gave Howaldtswerke access to naval construction, repair, and maintenance work. The company built warships and submarines during the First World War. By 1937 it operated yards in Kiel and Hamburg and had been taken over by the Kriegsmarine. During the Second World War, its facilities built Type VIIC U-boats, including 33 in Hamburg and 31 in Kiel. The wartime history of the yards is therefore closely connected with German naval production, although the company’s later identity was shaped primarily by postwar commercial and defense shipbuilding. After 1945, Howaldtswerke was the only major shipyard in Kiel that was not dismantled. It benefited from West Germany’s postwar economic expansion, building freighters, tankers, and other commercial vessels while also undertaking naval work. The company expanded its presence in Hamburg, and the 1968 merger with Deutsche Werft created the HDW name. During the 1970s and 1980s, HDW built ferries, cruise vessels, research ships, specialized commercial craft, and naval platforms. Its portfolio included the nuclear-powered cargo ship Otto Hahn, the research icebreaker Polarstern, luxury and cruise vessels, and several generations of conventional submarines. The company faced increasing pressure from lower-cost shipbuilders in Japan and South Korea. HDW closed its Hamburg yard in 1985, while its Kiel operations continued to concentrate on technically complex vessels and naval programs. In 1982, it publicly promoted a proposal to supply the United States Navy with rights to build a Type 2000 submarine in the United States using American labor and materials, illustrating its effort to internationalize its submarine business. Ownership and corporate control changed substantially in the early 2000s. In March 2002, American financial investor One Equity Partner acquired a majority position in Babcock AG in connection with HDW. Babcock subsequently entered insolvency proceedings, but the transaction was not undone. In January 2005, HDW became part of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, alongside businesses including Sweden’s Kockums and a stake in Hellenic Shipyards. From that point, HDW operated within a larger European naval-systems group rather than as an independent shipbuilding company. HDW continued to contribute to naval cooperation and international submarine development under the ThyssenKrupp structure. In 2009 it worked with Kockums and Northrop Grumman on a Visby-class corvette derivative for an American naval study. In 2011, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems confirmed the sale of HDW’s civilian shipbuilding assets at the Gaarden site to Abu Dhabi MAR. The HDW name consequently became primarily associated with the naval and submarine activitie…

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft developed from a nineteenth-century Kiel machinery and ironworking company into one of Germany’s best-known shipbuilders. August Howaldt and Johann Schweffel founded Maschinenbauanstalt und Eisengießerei Schweffel & Howaldt on 1 October 1838. The company initially manufactured boilers and machinery. Its early naval significance was established in 1849, when it built a steam engine for Von der Tann, a gunboat associated with the Schleswig-Holstein navy. In 1850, the company also constructed Brandtaucher, an early submarine designed by Wilhelm Bauer. Construction was transferred to Kiel because Danish military advances during the First Schleswig War made the originally intended location at Rendsburg unsafe. The business adopted the Howaldtswerke name during its expansion into shipbuilding. Its first ship under that name was the small steamer Vorwärts in 1865. Germany’s growing maritime economy and naval ambitions supported rapid growth, and approximately 390 ships had been completed by the start of the twentieth century. Howaldtswerke opened a subsidiary at Fiume on the Adriatic in 1892; that facility closed approximately ten years later but continued as a shipyard under different ownership and naming. Kiel’s role as a major Imperial German Navy base brought the company contracts for ship construction, repair, and maintenance. It built naval vessels and U-boats during the First World War. By 1937, the company had operations in Kiel and Hamburg and had been taken over by the Kriegsmarine. In the Second World War, the yards produced Type VIIC submarines, with 33 built in Hamburg and 31 in Kiel. Following the war, Howaldtswerke was the only major Kiel shipyard not dismantled. It benefited from the West German economic recovery and returned strongly to commercial shipbuilding, producing freighters and tankers while retaining naval capabilities. The company expanded in Hamburg and merged with Deutsche Werft in 1968. The resulting company was named Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, or HDW. During the following decades it built a broad range of commercial and naval vessels. Civilian projects included ferries, cruise ships, research vessels, specialized ships, and the nuclear-powered freighter Otto Hahn. HDW also built Polarstern, a major research icebreaker, and several vessels in the Superfast series of fast ro-pax ferries. Its military portfolio included frigates, corvettes, and a long succession of conventional submarines, including Type 201, 205, 206, 209, 212, 214, and related export designs. Commercial shipbuilding became increasingly difficult as Japanese and South Korean yards competed aggressively on cost. HDW closed its Hamburg yard in 1985. The company sought international opportunities, including a 1982 proposal advertised in American newspapers that offered the United States Navy rights to build a Type 2000 submarine in the United States with American labor and materials. Although this proposal did not make HDW an American submarine builder, it reflected the company’s attempt to establish an international market for its designs. Corporate ownership became unsettled in the early twenty-first century. In March 2002, One Equity Partner took a majority position in Babcock AG in connection with HDW. Babcock later filed for insolvency, but the transaction was not reversed. In January 2005, HDW became a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, which also included Kockums of Sweden and a minority holding in Hellenic Shipyards in Greece. HDW thereafter operated as part of a larger naval-systems group. The company continued to participate in international defense cooperation. In 2009, HDW joined Kockums and Northrop Grumman in offering a Visby-class corvette derivative for an American Focused Mission Vessel study, a precursor to the Littoral Combat Ship program. In July 2011, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems confirmed the sale of HDW’s civilian shipbuilding assets at Gaarden to Abu Dhabi MAR. The HDW name consequently became most closely associated with naval construction and submarine technology within TKMS. The independent HDW corporate structure no longer exists, but its Kiel heritage and technical work continue through the successor organization.

1. 2011Sale of civilian Gaarden assets

   ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems confirmed the sale of HDW’s civilian shipbuilding assets at Gaarden to Abu Dhabi MAR.

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2. 2005Integration into ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems

   HDW became a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

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3. 1985Hamburg yard closure

   HDW closed its Hamburg yard amid competition from lower-cost shipbuilders in Japan and South Korea.

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4. 1968Merger with Deutsche Werft

   Howaldtswerke merged with Hamburg-based Deutsche Werft and adopted the HDW name.

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5. 1937Kriegsmarine takeover

   By 1937 the company operated yards in Kiel and Hamburg and had been taken over by the Kriegsmarine.

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6. 1892Fiume subsidiary established

   Howaldtswerke opened a subsidiary in Fiume on the Adriatic coast of Austria-Hungary.

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7. 1865First ship built as Howaldtswerke

   The steamer Vorwärts became the first vessel built under the Howaldtswerke name.

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8. 1850Construction of Brandtaucher

   Howaldt’s works constructed Brandtaucher, an early submarine designed by Wilhelm Bauer.

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9. 1849First naval steam engine

   The company built a steam engine for Von der Tann, a gunboat associated with the Schleswig-Holstein navy.

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10. 1838Founding of the Kiel machinery works

    August Howaldt and Johann Schweffel founded Maschinenbauanstalt und Eisengießerei Schweffel & Howaldt in Kiel on 1 October 1838.

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A technically oriented German shipbuilder positioned around complex commercial vessels, naval platforms, and diesel-electric submarine technology. In its later years, its strongest identity was as a specialist defense and submarine business within ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

• Commercial freighters and tankersCommercial ships

  Freighters and tankers were central to HDW’s postwar commercial business, particularly during the West German economic expansion of the 1950s and 1960s. These vessels represented the yard’s ability to produce large ocean-going ships for cargo and energy transport before commercial competition from Asian shipbuilders intensified.

• Cruise ships and ferriesPassenger vessels

  HDW built passenger vessels ranging from cruise ships to fast ro-pax ferries. Examples include Tor Britannia, Tor Scandinavia, Bahamas Celebration, several vessels named Astor, and Superfast V, VII, VIII, IX, and X. These projects demonstrated the yard’s commercial capability in passenger transport, vehicle carriage, and specialized large-vessel construction.

• PolarsternResearch vessel1982

  Polarstern is a research icebreaker built by HDW and associated with Germany’s polar research capability. Its construction illustrates the company’s work beyond standard merchant shipping, combining heavy ice operations with scientific facilities and long-duration expedition requirements.

• Otto HahnSpecialized commercial vessel1968

  Otto Hahn was a nuclear-powered freighter completed by the shipyard in 1968. It was a technically distinctive commercial vessel and reflected the period’s interest in nuclear propulsion for merchant shipping, although nuclear-powered cargo vessels did not become a mainstream commercial category.

• Type 209 submarinesConventional submarines

  The Type 209 family was one of HDW’s most important export submarine lines. The diesel-electric design served as the basis for submarines supplied to multiple international customers and established HDW as a significant provider of conventional underwater platforms. Its commercial importance lay in a modular design adaptable to different national requirements.

• Type 212 and Type 212CD submarinesConventional submarines

  The Type 212 family represents HDW’s advanced non-nuclear submarine expertise. These boats were associated with air-independent propulsion and low-observable underwater operations, making them central to the company’s later defense identity. Type 212CD is a subsequent development associated with the same broader design lineage.

• Dolphin-class submarinesConventional submarines

  The Dolphin class was an international submarine program built on HDW’s conventional-submarine expertise. It extended the company’s export portfolio into a specialized naval platform tailored to the requirements of a foreign customer and became one of the best-known submarine families associated with the HDW name.

• Naval frigates and corvettesNaval surface vessels

  HDW constructed or participated in the construction of several classes of naval surface vessels, including Sachsen- and Brandenburg-class frigates, Braunschweig-class corvettes, and frigates for Malaysia, Colombia, and South Africa. These programs complemented the company’s submarine specialization with broader naval integration and shipbuilding capability.

• 2011Sale of civilian shipbuilding assetsM&A

  ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems was reorganizing its portfolio and separating civilian shipbuilding activities from its defense-oriented operations.

  What changed. The group confirmed the sale of HDW’s civilian shipbuilding assets at Gaarden to Abu Dhabi MAR.

  Aftermath. The transaction further reduced the civilian scope associated with the HDW name and reinforced its connection with naval and submarine activities within TKMS.

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• 2005Integration into ThyssenKrupp Marine SystemsM&A

  HDW’s ownership had become unstable after the Babcock-related transaction and subsequent insolvency proceedings.

  What changed. HDW became a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

  Aftermath. The company operated within a larger European naval group, with access to integrated submarine and surface-ship capabilities but no longer functioning as an independent corporate group.

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• 1985Closure of the Hamburg shipyardStrategy

  Commercial shipbuilding faced strong price competition from yards in Japan and South Korea.

  What changed. HDW closed its Hamburg yard and concentrated its remaining operations on activities with stronger technical and strategic value.

  Aftermath. The closure accelerated HDW’s shift away from broad commercial shipbuilding and toward specialized vessels, naval construction, and submarines.

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• 1982Proposal to build Type 2000 submarines in the United StatesStrategy

  HDW faced an increasingly international market for submarine technology and sought to demonstrate that its designs could be produced under United States industrial conditions.

  What changed. The company placed advertisements in American newspapers offering the U.S. Navy rights to build a Type 2000 submarine in the United States using American labor and materials.

  Aftermath. The proposal did not establish a lasting U.S. production program, while HDW continued to focus on German and international conventional-submarine markets.

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• 2011Civilian HDW Gaarden assets sold to Abu Dhabi MAR

  ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems confirmed the sale of HDW’s civilian shipbuilding assets at Gaarden to Abu Dhabi MAR.

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• 2009HDW collaborates on a Visby-derived corvette proposal

  HDW worked with Kockums and Northrop Grumman on a Visby-class corvette derivative for an American Focused Mission Vessel study.

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• 2005HDW becomes part of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems

  HDW became a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, joining a broader European naval shipbuilding group.

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• 2002One Equity Partner takes a majority position connected with HDW

  One Equity Partner acquired a majority position in Babcock AG in connection with HDW. Babcock later filed for insolvency, while the transaction was preserved.

  M&ABankruptcy
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• 1985HDW closes its Hamburg yard amid international cost pressure

  The Hamburg shipyard was closed after competition from lower-cost shipbuilders in Japan and South Korea put pressure on German commercial shipbuilding.

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• 1968Howaldtswerke merges with Deutsche Werft to form HDW

  The Kiel-based Howaldtswerke shipyard and Hamburg-based Deutsche Werft merged, creating the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft identity.

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1. Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft