Military pressure, hybrid attacks, sabotage of subsea cables, shadow fleet vessels in Danish waters, cyber threats and pressure on global supply chains. These are just some of the threats facing Denmark and Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. For this reason, a formalised and concrete public–private partnership on Denmark’s total defence should be the ambition, according to Danish Shipping:

“Our fundamental stability and security are under pressure, and therefore we must give higher priority to Denmark’s total defence and strengthen cooperation between public and private actors in this field. In addition to the absolutely necessary investments in the Armed Forces – which the Government, together with a broad majority in Parliament, has wisely initiated – there is also an important dimension in cooperating with private sectors such as shipping to make use of Danish capabilities that already exist,” said Anne H. Steffensen, CEO of Danish Shipping.

Denmark is among the world’s ten largest maritime nations. 80–90 per cent of global trade is transported by sea. 78 per cent of Denmark’s supplies arrive by ship. Much of our energy comes via cables and pipelines located on or beneath the seabed, as do communication and data lines. The Danish-flagged civilian fleet is the third largest in NATO. In short, Denmark’s prosperity, security and societal resilience are inextricably linked to the sea.

“The maritime sector is not a niche area. It is a fundamental pillar of Denmark’s societal resilience. We have capabilities, experience, vessels, know-how and people that Denmark does not yet systematically utilise within the total defence. Above all, we have the will and the desire to contribute to Denmark’s security,” said Anne H. Steffensen.

Civilian shipping can contribute to a range of preparedness tasks, such as surveillance above and below the water, transport capacity, repairs of subsea cables, and assistance in environmental emergency response.

For this reason, Danish Shipping is now launching a number of concrete recom­men­da­tions to the Government. These include a call to establish a national maritime defence forum, as already exists in Norway, Sweden and Finland, and to incorporate the capacities of the merchant fleet and ferries into NATO, EU and national planning. So far, dialogue with the Government has not resulted in concrete agreements or preparedness plans.

“It has not been easy to gain traction with the Government and authorities on this agenda, which surprises me. We have a great deal to offer – capabilities that either do not exist in sufficient volume in the public sector, or which take time to establish. This is an offer to add a very substantial amount of capacity, not least to the civilian emergency response. I therefore hope that these recom­men­da­tions will inspire the Government to integrate Danish shipping into the total defence strategy,” said Anne H. Steffensen, CEO of Danish Shipping.

Danish Shipping is working to bring together relevant authorities, shipping companies and stakeholders for further discussions of the recom­men­da­tions.