Wednesday morning, Danish waters were visited by several Dutch military ships, attracting attention from both locals and experts. An eyewitness photo taken from the Great Belt Bridge just before 8 o’clock shows three of the ships, while the ship monitoring site Vesselfinder shows a total of five ships sailing together in the Baltic Sea.
These ships, all belonging to the Dutch Navy, were around 9 o’clock on their way south of Zealand. When 365nyt.dk contacted the Danish defense for an explanation, they could not immediately provide information on what the ships were doing in the area. The defense mentioned that in June they held a large naval exercise called BALTOPS, with ships from several nations participating, but these ships should now be on their way out of the Baltic Sea.
According to the Defense Academy, the presence of Dutch ships may still be related to training. Jens Krogsgård Møller, a military analyst and teacher in maritime operations, assesses that the ships are likely participating in a training exercise as part of a standing NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) force that trains regularly and is ready for action. Krogsgård Møller points out that the BALTOPS exercise has just taken place and explains that the exercise often involves coastal navigation. This is particularly relevant in Danish waters, where the complex navigation conditions provide good training opportunities.