HDMS KNUD RASMUSSEN

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Two patrol ships banned from sailing

The 'Lauge Koch' and the sister 'Knud Rasmussen' have been banned from sailing in the Arctic due to engine problems. The 'Lauge Koch' has not left the dock in Nuuk since Feb 1, 2024, the 'Knud Rasmussen' is sidelined in Frederikshavn. The Defense Materiel and Procurement Agency has issued a total ban on sailing on both ships due to the same unidentified fault in the auxiliary engines following repeated breakdowns. The sailing ban compromises the Danish Defense Forces' enforcement of sovereignty in Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Both military experts and several Faroese and Greenlandic members of parliament are deeply concerned, as this is exactly the area where the Russians can come down on Great Britain unseen. Therefore, it is an important task in terms of defense that Denmark has in this case. As a temporary solution, the Defense Forces has withdrawn the 'Triton' from command in the Faroe Islands to Greenland in order to mitigate the consequences of the two other ships being idled in Nuuk. But before the ship took over the tasks, it also had technical problems and had to be repaired.

Missing boat crew found dead

On June 11, 2023, the Arctic Command launched a major SAR operation with the 'Knud Rasmussen' and the 'Lauge Koch', SISAK boats from the police, a helicopter from Air Greenland and an aircraft from the French Air Force, which was participating in an exercise, after a dinghy with two people on boar with another dinghy in tow was reported missing after sailing from Qooquut towards Nuuk. On June 12, the missing were found drowned.