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Knud Rasmussen class - Patrol Vessels

The inspection vessels of the Knud Rasmussen class are the Navy's newest ships in the Arctic area. They patrol Greenland and the Faroe Islands all year round. Main Tasks are Surveillance, Sovereignty and authority, sea rescue, fisheries inspection and assistance to various authorities in the North Atlantic. The Danish Navy’s ice-capable inspection frigates and offshore patrol vessels (OPV) such as the Knud Rasmussen-class patrol ships, must operate in harsh weather, in bitter cold and ice-choked waters, far from homeport. The Knud Rasmussen OPVs have thick hulls, an ice keel and an ‘ice knife’ stem, as well as an ice strengthened rudder.

The inspection vessels assert Denmark's sovereignty, carry out fisheries inspections, participate in sea rescue tasks and support civil authorities and the local community. Inspection vessels can break ice of around 80 centimeters thickness. Two of the inspection vessels also have equipment to carry out sea surveys. The inspection vessels are armed, among other things, with a 76 mm cannon.

The inspection vessels do not have a helicopter on board, but the Air Force's MH-60R Seahawk and EH101 Merlin helicopters can land on the vessels. This low-cost OPV, with a medium-helicopter flight-deck and a high-speed insertion craft, is initially designed for the rough North Atlantic Sea and can easily be adopted for global operations. Its prime task is blue water border and EEZ control, including search and rescue and boarding operations. Furthermore the opv is well suited for rendering logistic and operational support to a minor maritime force.

The vessel is built with positions for two Standard Flex containers and prepared for two more. This capacity enabled the ship to participate in a fairly broad spectrum of coast guard missions. The inspection vessels, like other newer ships in the Danish fleet, are flexible and equipped with container positions. The inspection vessels each have an LCP (Landing Craft Personnel) class response vessel with them.

In December 2003, the Danish parliament approved 507M Kroner (Cdn $105.8M) for construction of two new Knud Rasmussen class offshore patrol ships for North Atlantic and Arctic waters. In Danish service, such OPVs are termed Inspektionsfartøjer (IF) or inspection ships. Contracts for the Knud Rasmussen class OPV were signed almost exactly one year later, on 20 December 2004. The inspection vessels are named after Danish polar researchers. Knud Rasmussen and Ejnar Mikkelsen were built from 2005-2007 and entered active service in 2008. In December 2013, the Folketing approved funding for a third Knud Rasmussen class ship. Funding for that third ship was confirmed in Dec 2013 – 513M kr in 2013-2017. The third vessel, Lauge Koch, was built 2014-2015 and entered active service in 2016.