DANBJØRN ready:
Danish Ice Breaker
on the move
It is not the ice conditions in Danish waters that
calls for the ice breakers assistance, but DANBJØRN shall assist the Swedes for
a couple of weeks
For the first time in ten years is the Danish Ice
Breaker DANBJØRN is on the move, last time was in the winter 1995-1996.
_Isbryder.jpg)
The ice breaker
DANBJØRN.
(Foto: Royal Danish Navy)
By Johnny E. Balsved
The large Danish ice breaker
DANBJØRN
and its crew of 29 will leave its station at the Naval Base Frederikshavn Monday
13, and head for Swedish waters in the Aaland Sea on the east coast of Sweden.
DANBJØRN
is to assist the Swedish authorities in accordance to the more than fourty years
old common Nordic agreement on mutual ice breaker assistance.
Growing ice problems
During the last couple of weeks there has been
growing ice problems in the Aaland Sea between Sweden and Finland, and the
Swedish authorities had an urgent request for additional ice breaking assistance
to keep the main sail lanes open for trafic.
On friday the Swedish authorities asked Denmark to
assist, chartering a Danish ice breaker to support the Swedish ice breakers in
clearing the Aaland Sea.
Initiallly the Danish ice breaker will assist the
Swedes up to the end of this month.
The arrangement is based on a common Nordic
agreement from 1962, which opened up for Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark to
mutual assist each other, should one or more countries need additional ice
breaking capacity.
Ready on short notice
The three large Danish ice breakers have been on
short notice for a couple of months, if ice conditions should demand the use of
these large vessels.
But it is the first time in 10 years that
DANBJØRN
is given a chance to show its real strength. The ice breaker was last in use as
an ice breaker in Danish waters during the winter 1995-96.
Leaving Frederikshavn on Monday, the ice breaker
will be on station in the Swedish waters on Wednesday after two days transit.
The crew of 29 is a mixture of the ice breakers
fixed maintenance crew supplemented with crew members from other naval ships.
Beside the assistance to the Swedes, this is also
a welcomed chance to train the Danish crew members in the special work of ice
breaking.
|To the Top
- Do you miss a major event on this Site,
or do you hold a great story?
Are you able to contribute to the unfolding of
the Danish Naval History,
please
e-mail
me, enclosures are welcome.
Please remember to list your sources.
You
can also use the
Naval
Web Forum on this web-site.
|To the Top
|
