KIEL (dpa-AFX) - The Kiel shipyard Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) is handing over the first of four submarines to Singapore. Passers-by in the port were able to watch the 70-meter-long boat being loaded onto a special ship. The "Invincible" is to be transported to Singapore using the "Rolldock Star". A TKMS spokesperson did not comment on this when asked.

In April, the last of four submarines was christened "Inimitable" at a ceremony at the Kiel shipyard in the presence of Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) and Singapore's former Deputy Prime Minister and current Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean. "Singapore is an important partner for us in security policy and our cooperation is not limited to arms cooperation," Pistorius explained. A large proportion of world trade passes through the Straits of Singapore in South East Asia.

The four Invincible-class boats for Singapore are 70 meters long and are among the largest submarines to have been built in Germany since the Second World War. They have an air-independent fuel cell propulsion system. They are designed for a crew of 28 men and women. The total value of the armaments contract is likely to be in the billions of euros./akl/DP/jha