Who actually builds ships in Germany
Germany no longer has a single dominant yard. The industry is a set of specialists, and each buys differently.
| Yard group | Sites | Focus | Subcontracting profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meyer Group | Papenburg, Rostock (Neptun Werft), Turku (FI) | Cruise ships, river vessels, RoPax | Highest. Operates explicitly as a general contractor with roughly 3,000 partner companies |
| NVL (Naval Vessels Lürssen) | Wolgast (Peene-Werft), Hamburg (Blohm+Voss, Norderwerft), Wilhelmshaven (Neue Jadewerft) | Frigates, corvettes, OPVs, government vessels | High, but security-screened. Rheinmetall agreed to acquire NVL, with completion targeted for early 2026 |
| TKMS | Kiel, Emden, Hamburg | Submarines, surface combatants | Moderate. Deep in-house capability; subcontracting concentrated in fabrication and systems |
| Fassmer | Berne (Lower Saxony) | SAR craft, OPVs, lifeboats, composites | Moderate, with a strong composite and davit supply chain |
| FSG / Nobiskrug | Flensburg, Rendsburg | RoRo, ferries, yachts | High during build peaks, sharply cyclical |
| Lürssen (yachts) | Bremen-Vegesack, Lemwerder, Rendsburg | Large custom yachts | Very high on interiors and bespoke fit-out |
How a German build package is broken down
The Type 707 replenishment tanker programme is a clean public illustration of how prime and subcontract roles separate on a German naval build. NVL holds the prime contract; Meyer Werft manufactures the superstructure and rear hull sections, Neptun Werft in Warnemünde contributes hull work, and Stahlbau Nord in Bremerhaven supplies steel fabrication. Three of the four names on that list are themselves shipyards.
That is the first thing foreign suppliers usually get wrong: in German shipbuilding, your competitor and your customer are often the same company. Yards routinely subcontract steelwork to each other to smooth capacity. If you are pitching hull fabrication, you are bidding against yards, not against fabricators.
Tier 2: getting a component onto a German vessel
For pumps, valves, separators, deck machinery, HVAC and switchgear, the gate is class approval, not the yard. No German yard will specify a component into a class-relevant system without a type approval certificate from a recognised society - in practice DNV, Lloyd's Register, Bureau Veritas, RINA or ABS.
The practical sequence:
Secure type approval before you approach the yard
A yard buyer who has to wait for your certification will specify a competitor. Type approval typically takes 3-8 months and costs from around €6,000 for a simple mechanical item to well over €40,000 for control and safety systems.
Register in the supplier portal, then chase a human
Meyer, NVL and TKMS all run supplier portals. Registration alone rarely produces contact. Identify the responsible Einkaufsleiter for your commodity group and follow up in writing, in German where possible.
Prepare the documentation file
Expect requests for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, a REACH/RoHS declaration, spare-part availability commitment (commonly 15-20 years), a service-response undertaking, and an EU Declaration of Conformity for any Machinery Directive or Marine Equipment Directive scope.
Pass the audit
A documentation audit comes first. A site audit follows only if the commodity is critical or the value is material. Naval programmes add a security review and, for some scopes, national clearance.
Tier 3: contract fabrication and outfitting labour
This is the tier the search term "subcontractor for German shipyards" usually means, and the requirements are different in kind. Product certificates matter less; labour, safety and tax compliance matter enormously.
- Welding qualification. EN ISO 3834-2 for the company, EN ISO 9606-1 for individual welders, plus class-witnessed procedure qualification records (WPQR) for the specific material and thickness range.
- Posted-worker compliance. Foreign crews working on a German site fall under the Arbeitnehmerentsendegesetz. A1 certificates, minimum-wage documentation and working-time records must be available on site. Yards audit this - a failure closes your gate pass immediately.
- Site safety. SCC/SCP (Sicherheits Certifikat Contraktoren) is commonly required, and yards run their own inductions on top.
- Liability cover. Typical minimums are €5 million public liability and €2-5 million product liability, with the yard named as co-insured on some contracts.
What German yard buyers actually evaluate
| Criterion | Weight in practice | How it is tested |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule reliability | Very high | Reference calls to other yards, on-time delivery statistics |
| Class and regulatory compliance | Gate condition | Certificate review; no waiver available |
| Service network in Northern Europe | High | Response-time commitment in hours, named service points |
| Spare-part guarantee | High | Written availability period, usually 15-20 years |
| Price | Moderate | Compared within a shortlist, rarely decisive alone |
| Documentation quality | Underrated | Yards budget internal hours to fix bad supplier documentation and price it back to you |
Realistic timeline and cost of entry
For a Tier 2 component supplier with certification already in hand, budget 4-9 months from portal registration to first purchase order, and treat the first order as a trial: yards deliberately place small scopes first. For Tier 3 fabrication and outfitting, entry can be faster - sometimes 6-12 weeks - because yards buy capacity reactively when a programme slips, but the work is correspondingly less stable.
Related reading
- German shipbuilding equipment suppliers
- German shipyard services: build and repair
- German suppliers of ship spare parts
- How to verify German supplier certifications
Frequently asked questions
How do I become a subcontractor for a German shipyard?
Register in the yard's supplier portal, hold ISO 9001 plus a welding qualification to EN ISO 3834-2 if you fabricate, and be ready to evidence class approval (DNV, Lloyd's Register or Bureau Veritas) for any component in a class-relevant system. Most yards then run a documentation audit before a site audit. Expect 4-9 months from first registration to first order.
Which German shipyards use the most subcontractors?
Meyer Werft works with roughly 3,000 partner companies and describes itself explicitly as a general contractor - a cruise ship it delivers contains around 15 million individual parts, the majority sourced externally. NVL, TKMS and Fassmer also outsource heavily, though naval work adds security-clearance requirements that commercial work does not.
Do I need to be a German company to supply a German shipyard?
No. Foreign suppliers are common, particularly for propulsion, deck machinery, HVAC and interior fit-out. What matters is class approval, EU conformity for the relevant directives, and the ability to provide German- or English-language documentation and on-site service during commissioning and warranty.
What is the difference between a shipyard supplier and a shipyard subcontractor?
A supplier delivers goods to the yard gate - a pump, a valve package, a switchboard. A subcontractor performs work, usually on the yard's or the vessel's premises: hull sections, piping installation, insulation, cabin modules, commissioning labour. Subcontractors carry additional obligations under German site-safety law and, since 2017, the Arbeitnehmerentsendegesetz posting rules for foreign crews.