The Prime Minister's statement against Danish shipyard surprises: She cannot be unaware of it

Statsminister's Remark on Danish Shipyard Angers: She Can't Be Aware

If shipyards are to cease servicing Russian "shadow fleet", regulations need to be tightened, several politicians believe.

Mette Frederiksen (S) spoke harshly to a Danish shipyard on Tuesday. Now she herself is facing criticism. (Photo: © Thomas Traasdahl, Ritzau Scanpix)

By Emil Eller ( [email protected] ) 50 min. ago

A Danish shipyard received a harsh rebuke from Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) during a NATO meeting on Tuesday.

The shipyard Fayard in Odense Harbor services ships that carry Russian natural gas from the so-called Russian shadow fleet.

Entirely incomprehensible, the Prime Minister said.

- I can't understand why there is a Danish shipyard contributing to Russia's war in Europe. It must simply be stopped, she said.

The shipyard, however, is not breaking any international sanctions or any laws. The ships do not sail under Russian flag and are not subject to sanctions.

And therefore, the Prime Minister should put her pipe down, thinks Danish People's Party's Alex Ahrendsten.

- The Prime Minister can't be aware of scolding shipyards and their workers. They're not doing anything wrong. The work is not subject to sanctions, and they're not breaking any laws, so what's the point?

The Prime Minister's reaction came after information in, among other things, Financial Times ( https://www.ft.com/content/1604de31-5c3e-4d91-9237-7ef63dc887cc ) and Danwatch ( https://danwatch.dk/torben-oestergaard-selskab-skyggeflaaden/ ) about several Danish companies serving the tank ships that Russia uses to bypass Western sanctions.

Here is what the Prime Minister said:

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Mayor Called for Action in September

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But the problem is not new. And if the Prime Minister was not aware of it before, then ministers in her government at least were.

Already in September, the mayor of Odense, social democrat Peter Rahbæk Juel, appealed to the government and described the problem.

He did so in a letter to Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen (V), where he explained that the shipyard had no way to refuse the ships and urged to tighten the regulations.

The letter was answered by Business Minister Morgen Bødskov (S) in December.

Here is the response: it was known about the problem, but it required a joint solution in the EU.

So long as it is so, the Prime Minister should presumably hold back from ranting at shipyards, thinks Danish People's Party's Alex Ahrendtsen.

- Shipyards and their workers should not act as police. So the Prime Minister should go to her colleagues in the EU and ensure that there are clear rules, and that the area is also subject to sanctions, so they can act accordingly.

Also the Danish Democrats' Lise Bech is puzzled by the Prime Minister's outburst.

- It surprises me that the Prime Minister is only now aware of it. For we have asked about it before and learned that we could not do anything about it due to EU rules.

She does not think, however, that companies can be blamed when the rules are as they are.

- It's hard to have a Prime Minister who speaks as if it were a big surprise, without it being a big surprise.

- So one should tell companies, that we're not doing this here. And then make laws and regulations for it, says Lise Bech.

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Minister: On Which Side Are You On?

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Business Minister Morten Bødskov states in a written comment that Denmark has previously suggested that EU sanctions against Russia should also prohibit shipyard services to ships that carry or have carried Russian natural gas.

- We are still fighting for it, he writes.

And he expects that Danish companies comply with sanctions - but perhaps even more.

- I will also say that there are many ways to be committed. Danish business should decide which side of history they want to stand on.

- Many companies have already committed themselves to going further than sanctions. I can only agree, says it from Business Minister Morten Bødskov.

NATO countries around the Baltic Sea - including Denmark - expressed on Tuesday in a declaration that they will now take action against Russia's shadow fleet of tank ships. Among other things, by expanding sanctions and strengthening monitoring of the ships.

But it gives Russia little.

In a written comment to DR, the Russian ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, states that it is an "open attempt to turn the Baltic Sea into an internal NATO sea and restrict free navigation."

- There is no such thing as a shadow fleet in maritime law. It is yet another Western invention to give fictitious legitimacy to possible repressive measures against ships that carry goods that are unwanted by the West.

- On the one hand, the West introduces collective sanctions against the Russian merchant fleet, and on the other hand, it becomes hysterical and screams about the risk to the marine environment because there are ships that want to take advantage of this artificially created situation on the shipping market that the West has created, writes Vladimir Barbin.

And he emphasizes that Russia is not interested in a conflict with NATO countries.

- But NATO countries' rhetoric and practical actions, especially Denmark's, show that they are preparing for such a scenario, concludes the Russian ambassador.

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