Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus has told the Folketing that five planned Arctic patrol ships for Greenland will cost substantially more than the money already set aside.
The minister set out the cost warning in a written answer to the Folketing’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. According to DR, Bruus states that substantial cost increases are now expected. He writes that these increases cannot be handled within the funding already allocated.
The five vessels are intended to defend Greenland, uphold the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark and carry out rescue operations. DR reports that the defence settlement parties agreed in January 2025 to build three ships. In October of the same year, the number was raised to five.
The answer is published on the Folketing’s own website as part of the committee’s document series, Folketinget. In it, the minister says work is under way on consolidating and stress testing the initial price estimates received. Once that is complete, the defence settlement parties will be invited to a briefing and a discussion about the Arctic ships.
The project remains in a design phase, according to DR. No supplier has yet been selected for the vessels, and no contract has been signed. The revised price level is therefore still based on preliminary estimates.
No firm timeline
Bruus was also asked about the schedule for the ships. He does not give a concrete answer in the written reply, DR reports. The original plan was for the new vessels to be ready in 2030.
DR asked the minister a few days ago when he could guarantee that the Danish Armed Forces would receive the new ships. He answered that he does not operate with guarantees. The broadcaster notes that the vessels currently used for inspection duties are more than 30 years old.
The Arctic ships are part of the Danish defence agreement covering the Arctic and the North Atlantic. The decision to expand the order from three to five vessels was taken by the settlement parties in October 2025, per DR. Design work has continued since then without a named shipyard.
The minister does not state in the answer how large the cost increase is expected to be. He also does not say whether the number of ships or their specifications could change. That question is left to the coming briefing of the defence settlement parties.
Denmark’s broader defence spending framework sets the financial limits for the procurement. The Arctic vessels were funded within the existing agreement, which the minister now says is insufficient for the project. No new date has been given for when the ships will enter service.
The Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee submitted the question that prompted the reply. The answer was registered in the parliamentary session 2025 to 2026. DR published its report on the answer on August 31, 2026.
