The Danish government is aiming to implement a plan to build naval support vessels. While the project has not yet received official approval, a consortium comprising Karstensens Skibsværft, Hvide Sande Shipyard, and OSK Design is ready to begin. The steel hulls for these ships are expected to be built at Karstensen Shipyard Poland in Gdańsk.

Denmark is looking to strengthen its Navy. One of the planned initiatives involves constructing five support vessels for the Danish Armed Forces using domestic companies. These vessels are intended for various maritime operations, including environmental missions, patrol and reconnaissance, mine-laying, and infrastructure monitoring. The consortium of Danish firms—Karstensens Skibsværft, Hvide Sande Shipyard, and OSK Design—is preparing for the task. Karstensens Skibsværft would oversee the construction of the steel hulls in its Polish yard in Gdańsk, while the outfitting would be completed at its Danish branch in Skagen and at Hvide Sande Shipyard. OSK Design would be responsible for the vessel design.

“These vessels are not designed for combat, but they will be capable of serving as motherships for drones and will be equipped with remotely operated heavy machine guns for self-defense and warning shots,” the consortium said in a press release.

The ships are to be adapted for operation across Denmark’s maritime territory, including Greenland.

The project still awaits formal approval under Denmark’s defense agreement. However, the consortium notes that if a political decision is made swiftly and the contract is signed this spring, the first of the five vessels could be operational as early as 2027, with the entire series delivered by 2030.

The consortium has also expressed readiness to design and build additional vessels for Danish defense and civil services, including Arctic ships for operations off Greenland’s eastern coast, as well as icebreakers, coastal corvettes, and other near-shore support vessels.

“We are ready to work with other strong Danish partners—both shipyards and subcontractors from the maritime sector—so let’s start building ships for the Danish fleet,” wrote Jacob H. Thygesen (CEO, OSK Design), Knud Degn Karstensen (CEO, Karstensens Skibsværft), and Carl Erik Kristensen (CEO, Hvide Sande Shipyard) in the joint statement.