Denmark and Ukraine team up on construction of multi-purpose vessels

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defence of Denmark concerning cooperation on developing and enhancing Ukraine’s maritime capabilities. 

Under the MoU, a consortium of Danish companies will build multi-purpose vessels in Ukraine at the Ukrainian shipyards. The project includes ship design, engineering, technology, information technology and other companies.

According to the officials, Danish government has provided guarantees to the Danish Export Credit Agency (EKF) to insure the foreign economic activity of the consortium in the amount of DKK7.8 billion ($1.19 billion).

Shipbuilding will be fully localized in Ukraine where Ukrainian companies will perform more than 50% of the total work. Each of the vessels will be equipped with high-tech specialized equipment from Danish manufacturers.

Multi-purpose vessels will be able to perform dozens of functions, including surveillance and sovereignty enforcement, collective defence, search and rescue, environmental protection, hydrographic survey, transportation and more.

In order to implement the memorandum, the necessary governance structure will be established which will include various Ukrainian and Danish stakeholders. Completion of the first multi-purpose vessel is expected by 2024, the officials concluded.