A partnership has presented three major recommendations that can enable Denmark to build and maintain warships on its own. With the right investments, it will be possible to build warships in Denmark. This was stated by Anne H. Steffensen, CEO of Danish Shipping (Danske Rederier), and chair of a national partnership for the maritime sector, which on Tuesday morning presented a new report. The report contains recommendations for Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen from the Venstre (V) party on how Denmark can become more self-sufficient in the construction and maintenance of warships. During a press conference, the Minister of Defense stated that it is in Denmark’s “national security interest” to strengthen the maritime sector. “We are strong in Denmark when it comes to maritime affairs, and we must maintain and strengthen that in the future.” The partnership’s three key recommendations include significant investments in Danish shipbuilding capacity. Anne H. Steffensen emphasized that only one shipyard in Denmark produces larger newbuilds, and none produce hulls in Denmark.
The report presents three models for how shipbuilding capacity can be improved. One model focuses on reorganizing existing repair and conversion yards, while another suggests the establishment of a national production facility, which could be privately and state-owned. In addition, the partnership recommends that the Defense commit to a long-term plan for ship acquisitions over the next 20 to 25 years and plan for a systematic resale of used warships after 15 to 20 years. If the government decides to build warships in Denmark, the first ship could be ready by 2028, says Anne H. Steffensen. The national partnership for the maritime sector was launched in August 2022 by former Minister of Defense Morten Bødskov from the Social Democrats (S). At that time, the minister announced that the Defense must replace a number of ships in the coming years, requiring investments of around 40 billion Danish kroner. The partnership was therefore initiated to provide recommendations on how the Danish maritime defense industry can benefit from these billion investments. The recommendations will form the basis for a long-term fleet plan to be developed by the defense agreement group in the fall.