The Danish maritime industry

The Danish maritime industry is one of Denmark’s core industries

The maritime industry in Denmark consists of shipyards, suppliers and designers of ships, maritime equipment, products and service, i.e. companies providing development, manufacture and service to the maritime technology.

The Danish maritime industry holds a strong position on the global market, especially due to highly technological and specialized products and solutions.

Up to 87% of the companies within the Danish maritime industry have parent companies or subsidiaries in other countries, and maritime companies are often among the first to get established in distant parts of the world thus contributing to increased growth and welfare globally.

Maritime technology and shipbuilding constitute a backbone of globalization – without ships, no globalization. Danish maritime companies have global presence, and their headquarters are based all over Denmark. The maritime industry is certainly a business which is present in every corner of Denmark, being part of the history of all Danes. Thus, very few communities around the country do not hold one or more of the 1000 maritime companies which are based in Denmark today.

The maritime industry is an old and traditional industry, which has succeeded in maintaining the leading position, not least due to continuous research, development, and innovation. This is the main reason why major parts of the Danish maritime industry are still very innovative and research intensive. As much as 45% of the companies within the Danish maritime industry are innovative, compared to 20% of the remaining part of the Danish industry.

The Blue Denmark employs approx. 100,000 persons directly or indirectly employed. With its approx. 40,000 employees the maritime industry represents the largest share of the persons employed by the Blue Denmark. Within the maritime industry the employees primarily have a technical background at various levels from skilled worker, which makes up 40% of the workforce within the maritime industry, to employees having a long or medium-long specialized technical education, which makes up 30% of the workforce. Having skilled employees is highly important for the industry, as the companies and workplaces are very knowledge intensive.

The importance of the maritime industry to the Danish society is obvious when looking at the 5 billion DKK which the employees pay as income tax each year. The many successful companies within the Danish maritime industry ensure that the industry holds a strong position internationally, and continuous special efforts are required to maintain this position in the intensive global competition.

The world’s fleet consists of more than 100,000 ships, and a major part of these ships have Danish equipment onboard. Maritime technology has a global growth potential. Danish maritime providers have excellent possibilities of getting a solid position in relation to future growth of the maritime sector. However, it is a condition that the business enjoy competitive framework conditions, ensuring that we can maintain the position of the maritime industry as the world´s sixth largest exporter of maritime technology.

The Danish maritime industry has the entire world as its marked

• Almost all ocean-going ships have equipment made or designed in Denmark onboard.
• Half of all waterborne transport in the world is driven by Danish-designed marine engines.
• The world’s first 100 percent electrical ferry was produced in Denmark.
• Denmark is the 7^th largest maritime industry in the world measured by production value for export.
• Denmark is the world’s 12^th largest ship repair nation.
• Denmark is the world’s 8^th largest scrapping nation.
• There is a global need for equipment to maintain and upgrade the existing fleet for approximately 18 billion USD annually.

The Danish maritime industry is among the most sustainable in the world.

Every day, millions of tons of goods and people are transported around the world by ship, and every day Danish climate- and environmentally friendly maritime solutions make a significant difference in global shipping

Global shipping and world trade need to become more sustainable and in Denmark we also work at further developing our strong maritime traditions. As a global business we are on a both exciting and demanding journey, which thanks to constant technology development day by day brings us to an even more climate and environmentally friendly, modern, and efficient world fleet.

Danish Maritime works to ensure that our industry can both grow and keep a strong position in the global markets. In this context, innovation power and highly specialised skills are crucial. Our customers are shipping companies and shipyards all over the world who want Danish energy efficient, quality products with a high level of service. As customers, they depend on our maritime industry to deliver new innovative technological solutions.

The common goal in the maritime industry is a higher level of sustainability – hand in hand with high efficiency and reliability in world trade as well as in passenger transport and many other types of activity at sea.

In Denmark we are also part of the defence industry, where the maritime industry plays a decisive role for the Royal Danish Navy and contributes to ensuring safety and stability in Danish waters and the security of supply to Denmark. Building naval vessels require a very high level of competence, and the Danish maritime industry is currently upgrading the Danish naval fleet.

In 2019 the production of the Danish maritime industry was approx. 75.2 billion DKK.

The technological development when looking ahead

The green transition is the all-dominant agenda in the maritime industry these days. Both in terms of climate and greenhouse gases and in terms of environmental challenges with particle pollution, ballast water, etc.

In addition, there are also many other exciting technological things going on in the industry, for instance autonomous vessels, drone technologies, digitalization, functionality on board and safety.

But if we zoom in on the climate debate, the starting point is that shipping must contribute to reducing global warming, and this requires several things:

Firstly, new forms of propulsion and fuels – as well as new technologies to make them usable in a ship’s engine. Without the necessary associated technology, climate and environmentally friendly fuels are useless.

Secondly, a targeted focus on energy efficiency and all the measures that can contribute to fuel-efficient sailing. Energy efficiency is crucial both to new ships and to the existing fleet, which can achieve significant improvements with an upgrade. Both economically and climate‑ and environment-wise.

Propulsion in the future

Different types of ships can benefit from different types of fuel and forms of propulsion. This depends both on the type of ship, on the routes and on how often the ship calls at port. Dual fuel engines might also be an option for vessels operating on either green or traditional fuels during a transition period, or where the ship sails on electricity close to the coast and on liquid fuel at sea.

Soon, sustainable electricity will help producing hydrogen-based electro-fuels (Power to X). Our members have the technology required to utilize the new sustainable fuels (called X to Power). A point of attention is that certain work vessels require extra energy for heavy processes, and for those reasons we are looking into a wide range of different designs, engine types and other ship–borne technologies.

Absolutely crucial for the success of the green transition of shipping is that we get access to sufficient quantities of sustainable fuels. This requires a huge amount of renewable energy, because of the considerable energy loss when converting renewable electrical energy into liquid fuels.

At the same time, all the new types of fuels must be distributed globally and be available – regardless of where the route runs. Therefore, both in Denmark and in all other countries, a major task lies ahead of us. We need to renew and expand our current energy infrastructure, which is also of immense importance for both private households and other industries.

But all of Danish maritime industry companies are ready to lift global shipping into a new era of carbon neutrality and low environmental impact as the goal. The future at sea is green and we are proud that Danish quality products are part of the solution.

See the membership list of Danish Maritime here