Thread: Danish Navy prepares to provide Arctic cruiseship disaster rescue

The Danish Navy has stationed two heavy vessels in the shipping lanes of western and eastern Greenland so that help to cruise ships would be speedily available, should the need arise.

Rear Admiral Henrik Kudsk, Commanding Officer at the Danish Gronnedal base in southern Greenland said that the naval unit was responsible for rescue in Arctic waters from Cape Farewell in southern Greenland to the North Pole.



“It’s a vast area and we are obviously not able to be everywhere,” Maritime Danmark quoted Rear Admiral Kudsk as saying.

“Experience from Antarctica shows that you need a cruise ship to rescue a cruise ship- no other vessels have the capacity.”

Rear Admiral Kudsk called on cruise companies to cooperate by sailing in pairs in Greenland waters.

In 2009, 36 cruise ships visited Greenland.

“It is not a question of if, but when it happens. It’s only a question of time,” said Danish Naval Commander Jan Bogsted.

Cruise operators are, however, dismissing the navy’s claims that cruise ships need to practice tougher safety measures.

“The big cruise liners with thousands of passengers don’t go anywhere near the areas where there is a lot of ice,” the Managing Director of Denmark’s Albatross Travel, Soren Rasmussen said.

“Neither of our ships nor our competitors sails there. And every time they see even an ice cube, they turn around. They are incredibly cautious.”

It's good to know they are there---just like having insurance---you are glad you have it but hope never to need it.