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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.

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

See the membership list of Danish Maritime here