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MILITARY

Denmark to command NATO fleet from Norwegian vessel after ship malfunction

Denmark has assumed command of NATO's standing naval fleet from a Norwegian vessel, following technical issues with its own frigate, the Iver Huitfeldt.

Published: 20 August 2024 15:54 CEST
Frigate 3
Pictured is the Niels Juel frigate, which was deployed in NATO's standing naval force in 2023. Photo: Danish Armed Forces

The Danish Armed Forces confirmed the move in a statement, adding that Denmark will continue to lead the alliance’s naval force during the second half of 2024.

Initially, Denmark was set to lead NATO’s fleet using the Iver Huitfeldt as the flagship.

However, following a mission in the Red Sea in March, when the frigate experienced system failures and defective ammunition during an attack, the vessel was deemed unfit for further deployment.

As a result, Danish Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen informed the Danish parliament in June that the frigate would not be available for sailing service.

Norwegian support

In response to the frigate’s issues, Denmark offered to fulfil its NATO obligations from Danish naval stations.

However, the command responsibilities have now been transferred earlier than planned to a Norwegian ship.

The head of Denmark’s Naval Command, Henrik Ryberg, thanked Norway for accommodating the Danish force commander’s contribution.

“I am very happy that the Danish force commander has now been given the opportunity to come aboard the Norwegian ship. I would like to thank our Norwegian partners for making this possible,” Ryberg said in the statement.

The transfer of the Danish force commander’s duties to a Norwegian unit was always part of the plan, the Armed Forces noted, but is now happening two months earlier than originally scheduled.

Media coverage of malfunction led to dismissal of defence chief

The Iver Huitfeldt’s system failures came to light only after defence media outlet Olfi reported the incident, leading to significant fallout within Denmark’s military leadership.

This included the dismissal of defence chief Flemming Lentfer and the appointment of Hyldgaard as the acting defence chief.

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MILITARY

Denmark has space for up to 3.6 million people in underground bunkers

Should the Danish population ever need to shelter underground in the event of war or disaster, there would be enough space for 3.6 million people to do so according to a new count of facilities.

Published: 18 July 2024 13:35 CEST
Denmark has space for up to 3.6 million people in underground bunkers

Denmark currently has space for around 3.6 million people or 61 percent of the population in shelters and bunkers.

Authorities have been working on the count for two years. It shows a decline since the previous count in 2002, when 4.7 million places were found, newspaper Jyllands-Posten reports.

The 2002 count was initiated in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, while the 2022 review was in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Bunkers, public shelters and underground annexes like extra rooms under public garages or in basements make up the total number of spaces that can be used.

Of the total 3.6 million spaces, 3.4 million are in bunkers which could be prepared if needed, the Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) states on its website.

The agency distinguishes between a sikringsrum, a specially made bunker, and beskyttelsesrum, ‘safe rooms’ inside normal buildings that can be used for shelter in the event of an air raid or other event that made it unsafe to be in the rest of the building.

Some of the rooms are used for other purposes in peacetime and would have to be prepared for emergency use.

READ ALSO: CHECKLIST: The emergency supplies Denmark advises you to stock up on

Many of the state-owned bunkers are in disrepair and would need some work in order to be usable, meanwhile.

“They need to be inspected for water and mould and that would have large costs,” Lars Robetje, the deputy leader of the national organisation for emergency services, told news wire Ritzau.

Many of the bunkers are Second World War-era constructions that have been sealed, he explained.

“Politically, war was done away with [as a threat to Denmark, ed.] in the 2000s, and just after that all the funding we spent on maintenance and service of concrete bunkers was cancelled,” he said.

READ ALSO: Danish defence analyst: ‘You shouldn’t be worried about war’

State-owned bunkers come under the auspices of municipalities, who are thereby responsible for their upkeep.

Laws dictate that local authorities should be able to ready them in response to an order from the interior ministry.

“I’m not a military analyst but as a professional within the emergency services I would say there’s a lot of other things we should focus on ahead of concrete bunkers,” he said.

“For example, the threat from hybrid war that could affect our power supplies or data traffic,” he said.

READ ALSO: Seven in ten Danes ‘fear attack’ on critical digital infrastructure

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