When a cargo ship arrived at Esbjerg Harbor with a load of American tanks, it wasn’t just curious Danes who were watching. According to the Defense Intelligence Service (FE), there were likely also foreign spies present when the cargo ship ARC Endurance arrived on April 6, 2022. In a new report, FE states that a suspicious vehicle with foreign license plates was observed driving around the harbor just as the ship arrived. The drivers of the vehicle were seen taking pictures of the American military equipment, which included 44 helicopters and over 300 armored vehicles destined for Poland to participate in a NATO exercise.
The vehicle arrived in Denmark early in the morning on April 6 and left the country again the same day at lunchtime. Therefore, FE suspects that the vehicle was only in Denmark to photograph the American military equipment and thus carry out espionage. The report, entitled “Insight” and published every two years with reports on the intelligence service’s activities, states: “The individuals in the vehicle likely traveled to Denmark – briefly – to look at American military equipment for a few hours.”
However, FE does not definitively confirm that it was espionage. In a written comment to Berlingske, the intelligence service stated: “We cannot comment further on the outcome of the specific incident as it is classified. With the current situation in Europe, the number of tasks including host nation support may increase, and the need for FE’s counter-espionage will likely reflect that.”
The information about the mysterious vehicle now forms part of FE’s ongoing work to uncover espionage against Denmark and its allies.