The Minister of Defense expects a political decision to improve the oil spill response during the summer. At least four ships loaded with Russian oil have been passing through the Great Belt daily since 2023. In total, around 1.4 billion barrels of oil and fuel have been transported through the strait during this period. This information was reported by Danwatch and Information on Friday, citing new estimates from the British maritime analysis institute Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
Danwatch and Information also report that Russia currently sends one-third of its oil exports through the Great Belt and Øresund. The traffic is increasing, posing an increased risk of accidents and oil spills. A major spill could cause serious environmental damage. However, the Danish emergency response does not have the capacity to remove oil from the sea in case of a major spill, as previously stated by the Danish National Audit Office.
Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen (from the Liberal Party) stated on Friday that he takes the challenges in the emergency response seriously. He said, “I will discuss potential solutions with the parliamentary parties to enhance the maritime emergency preparedness. I expect a decision to be made in this area during the summer.”
In January, the Danish National Audit Office criticized the maritime emergency preparedness in a report. The four Danish environmental ships do not meet national or international standards, according to the report. Some of the largest ships carrying Russian oil have a cargo of 100,000 tons. The Danish emergency response would not even be able to clean up after an oil spill of up to 5000 tons, as concluded by the Danish National Audit Office.
It is common to use the unit of barrels in the freight and sale of oil. One barrel is equivalent to nearly 159 liters of oil. According to the new estimates from Lloyd’s List Intelligence, the value of the approximately 1.4 billion barrels transported through the Great Belt is at least 770 billion Danish kroner.