CASR

- Canadian Defence Policy, Foreign Policy, & Canada-US Relations -

In Detail —— Denmark's Arctic Assets & Canada's Response ——

Arctic Sovereignty

Index  to Arctic Viking

Arctic Viking Introduction

In Detail

Canada's Arctic Sovereignty  –  Denmark's Claims in the Arctic  –  April 2005 Denmark's  Arctic  Assets  and  Canada's  Response  –  Sovereignty and Strategic Resources of the High Arctic Part 3  –  In Detail  Survey  –  Danish Arctic Assets  –  Maritime Capabilities Ice Resistant Ships Year Round –  the Royal Danish Navy in Greenlandic Waters The Royal Danish Navy (Kongelige Danske Marine or KDM) maintains a year-round presence in arctic waters. The most specialized  Danish vessels off  Greenland are also the most humble –  the three Agdlek class fisheries patrol cutters. The most distinctive feature of these 330t vessels is their elevated and enclosed crowsnest (useful for surveillance or search-and-rescue operations as well as monitoring sea-ice conditions).  The Agdlek class are ice-resistant –  their welded-steel hulls were specifically designed for operations off western Greenland [1] – and are well armed for their size and the nature of their tasks. At least 2 Adglek cutters [2] are on active service in Greenland waters at any time. For Agdlek class specifications, see: Danish Warships in Arctic Waters Sidebar. [ Update:  Agdlek class patrol cutters have now been replaced by the much larger and more capable Knud Rasmussen class, an ice-hardened Offshore Patrol Vessel.] While Agdlek class cutters patrol the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, there are frigate-sized cutters patrolling the waters off eastern and northern Greenland. Like the smaller Adglek, the larger Thetis class 'cutter' was designed specifically for arctic operations. The Thetis are highly automated (even the engine room is unmanned to keep the ship's complement low) and, by frigate standards, the defensive armament is light and equipment fit spartan. The Thetis class is a specialized adaptation of the Danish  Standard Flex 3000 frigate design. The armament installations are, like some other ship's systems, completely modular. In theory, the modules can be installed (right) or removed at dockside within one hour.  Each Thetis class carries one Westland Lynx maritime helicopter. (For details of weapons and helicopters, see: KDM armament/equipment Sidebar.) Thetis hulls are double-skinned  and ice-strengthened (Thetis class ships can move through 80cm of solid ice). Along with icebreaking bows,  ships' fittings were designed to minimize ice buildup. Most equipment is mounted below deck or enclosed like the main mast and radar antenna. Even still, a Thetis class can safely accumulate 375t of ice. At least one of the four Thetis are on active service in Greenland waters at any time. It was F359 Vædderen which delivered KDM shore parties to disputed Hans Island. For Thetis class specifications, see:  Danish Warships in Arctic Waters  Sidebar. Both Agdlek and Thetis class vessels are intended for arctic use but the KDM home-waters fleet can also be called upon. This includes 1300t corvettes and two newer Standard Flex designs: an expeditionary frigate (which can carry vehicles), and fourteen well-armed Flyvefisken class 340t patrol boats. Of more interest to DND was the submarine S325 Kronborg. Transferred from Sweden in 2001,  S325 had been converted to air independant propulsion (while still Sweden's Näcken), which allowed this sub to operate under arctic pack ice. [3] [1] These ice-resistant ships operate primarily in Davis Strait where Denmark has a built-in natural advantage.  A small portion of the Gulf Stream is diverted along the west coast of Greenland. The warming current keeps these eastern shores of Davis Strait relatively free of sea ice while glaciers calving-off from the Greenland icesheet and its glaciers are swept northwest into Canadian waters. As a result, Agdleks do not have to fight sea ice for much of the year although they are quite able to do so. [2] The Agdleks are to be replaced by larger, more capable Offshore Patrol Vessels. Two of these 70m long , 1700t ships are under construction now to replace Adglek (Y386) and Agpa (Y387).  [Our thanks to Gregers Hjermitslev for the OPV updates.] [3] In 1988, the A-14 Näcken was converted to air-independant propulsion (or AIP) by Sweden's Kockums AB (now a part of HDW). As can be seen (above, left), the submarine was cut in half and had an additional AIP 'barrel' section inserted. This 1200t sub could run on either a Swedish-develped Mk1 Stirling AIP system (which burns liquid-oxygen) or on the submarine's original twin diesel-electric powerplant. S325 Kronborg has now retired – the KDM submarine arm disbanded in Nov. 2004. Next in this In Detail Survey – Mukluks on the Ice: Shore Parties/Sirius Patrol