A tourist boat motors past very large icebergs crowding the Ilulissat Icefjord on July 16, 2024, near Ilulissat, Greenland. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images via TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — Denmark will scrap plans to build new patrol and environmental vessels for the Baltic Sea and instead design ships to carry out tasks around Greenland.
Danish lawmakers initially agreed in 2021 to design new navy ships for patrolling and clean-up operations for environmental accidents in the Baltic Sea. The project will now be shifted to focus on acquiring vessels equipped for tasks around Greenland, the defense ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We are in a significantly changed security situation,” Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said, adding that a replacement for the existing fleet of “aging” Thetis-class ships in Greenland was needed.
The deal, which has got backing from a large majority of parties in parliament, is part of Denmark’s efforts to ramp up its defense capabilities in the Arctic region, and follows an agreement earlier this week to inject 14.6 billion kroner ($2 billion) for new warships and drones.
It comes amid a diplomatic crisis between Copenhagen and Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted he wants to take control of Greenland, a self-ruling territory in the Kingdom of Denmark, for security reasons.
The Danish defense ministry said the change of plans are possible as neighboring countries commit more resources to Baltic Sea security, adding that Denmark would instead need to contribute with other capabilities such as frigates and aircraft in the region. Danish lawmakers also agree to acquire new marine environmental vessels through its new crisis ministry, it said.
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