Greenland leader condemns Danish delay on Arctic ships

Greenland has criticised Denmark for failing to begin construction of new Arctic inspection vessels, DR reports. No supplier contract has been signed 573 days after the government presented its plan to replace the current ageing fleet.

The delay comes as an acute shortage of sailors in the Danish Navy’s Arctic unit has led to two crews being removed from the duty roster and an important mission off Greenland being cancelled.

Greenlandic leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the situation was not satisfactory.

When it was decided that new inspection vessels should be built because the existing fleet was already old, the process should have been accelerated, Nielsen said. He added that the matter should be discussed with the Danish government rather than through the press.

The delay has also caused concern in Inatsisartut, Greenland’s parliament. Pipaluk Lynge, chair of its Foreign and Security Committee, urged Denmark’s Ministry of Defence to hurry up and start building the vessels.

Lynge said the issue was particularly serious because the United States and President Donald Trump had made threats towards Greenland. Trump has openly said he wants to take over the territory and has argued that Denmark is unable to protect it adequately.

Denmark’s slow progress could weaken its position in disputes over Greenland, said Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen, a lecturer at the Danish Defence College who specialises in Arctic security.

In 2021, then Defence Minister Trine Bramsen announced plans to acquire advanced Arctic surveillance drones. But when the Greenland crisis intensified in late 2024, the drones had neither been selected nor ordered, Rahbek-Clemmensen said.

If the drones had been in the planning stage, production or on their way, Denmark would have had stronger rhetorical leverage in its confrontation with Trump, he said.

The inspection vessel Hvidbjørnen is currently at the naval station in Frederikshavn instead of patrolling off Greenland. The Arctic unit lacks enough sailors to crew all its vessels, forcing two crews to be removed from the duty roster.

As a result, Hvidbjørnen has been unable to patrol, assert Danish and Greenlandic sovereignty, or serve as a floating rescue platform.

Lynge said the vessel’s absence was worrying because the issue was not only about defence. Fishermen, hunters and others travelling in the wilderness also needed that kind of security in the event of an accident, she said.

The current inspection vessels are old and worn. Denmark’s political parties have since agreed that five new Arctic vessels should be built, but no contract has yet been signed and construction has not begun.

Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus declined to give an interview.