The Danish navy has canceled a planned two-month Arctic mission by the inspection ship Hvidbjørnen because of a shortage of crew, leaving the vessel docked in Frederikshavn instead of patrolling off Greenland.
Hvidbjørnen was supposed to be sailing in Greenlandic waters right now, monitoring Russian and Chinese vessels, assisting people in distress and enforcing Danish sovereignty. Instead the ship lies alongside at Flådestation Frederikshavn, DR reports. The leadership of 1. Eskadre, which operates the Arctic ships, canceled the North Atlantic mission because of the personnel situation.
According to DR, the mission would have taken the ship up along Greenland‘s northwest coast, past the American Pituffik Space Base for the base’s 75th anniversary. The ship was then due to exercise with the Canadian navy in Canadian waters.
As a further consequence of the shortage, the navy has pulled two of the six crew rotations that sail the Arctic inspection ships out of the duty roster, according to DR’s information. They are to remain out until the vacant posts have been filled.
Senior sergeant Niels Pihlblad, joint union representative in 1. Eskadre, told DR that the squadron has drawn a line in the sand and stopped accepting crew loans between units. He described the cancellation as a significant political signal. Pihlblad was himself scheduled to take part in the voyage.
DR reports that the cancellation follows several years of stopgap solutions, crew lending between units, breakdowns on the ships and a heavy workload that has raised the risk of stress, PTSD and burnout among sailors. The broadcaster has previously reported that the Danish Defence is obliged to deliver a set number of sailing days with the inspection ships off Greenland.
Operations in the North Atlantic are directed by Arktisk Kommando in Nuuk. In a written reply to DR, the command stated that it allocates and reallocates units according to circumstances, often at days’ or weeks’ notice. It said prioritization had been necessary, and that the inspection ship Ejnar Mikkelsen took part in the Pituffik Space Base anniversary instead. The command said it could not elaborate further for operational reasons.
Per Pihlblad, the missing personnel are primarily engine room staff, who keep the aging vessels running. He said the ships are more than 35 years old and that the machinery is worn, requiring constant maintenance. Several employees from that group have moved to a new vessel the Defence has bought to monitor critical undersea infrastructure such as cables and pipelines.
Pihlblad said hopes across the Defence leadership rest on the new 11-month conscription attracting more staff to the navy, but he called that a slender straw to cling to. Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus of the Social Democrats declined an interview with DR and referred the broadcaster to Forsvarskommandoen.
