Kenneth Glad
A maritime specialist has raised doubts about the practicality of deploying a floating U.S. medical facility to the Arctic territory. Questions over infrastructure, safety and logistics are emerging as the proposal draws renewed political attention.
Donald Trump has again turned his attention to Greenland, suggesting the United States could send a Navy hospital ship to the Arctic territory.
In a post on Truth Social over the weekend, he said that the vessel would treat people he claims are not receiving proper medical care, sharing an obviously AI-generated image of a white hospital ship and indicating it was on its way.
Greenland holds strategic importance for Washington due to its Arctic location and natural resources. Trump’s renewed focus recalls his 2019 attempt to purchase the Danish territory, a proposal that strained ties with Copenhagen.
Ships built for other missions
The U.S. Navy operates two hospital ships, USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort. Both are converted oil tankers that have been used in disaster relief and humanitarian missions, including medical deployments after hurricanes and, in 2020, to support hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak in Los Angeles and New York.
Talking to Danish broadcaster TV2, maritime consultant Hans Otto Holmegaard Kristensen questioned whether either vessel is suited for Arctic conditions. “It is not tailored for Arctic navigation. If a ship enters thick ice and needs to break it, it must be ice-reinforced. We do not know whether they are,” he said.
Public ship-tracking data on Monday showed both vessels at port in Alabama. Reuters could not independently verify whether they have any ice-reinforcement beyond standard naval specifications.
Kristensen noted that while the ships would not necessarily need to function as icebreakers if positioned in open water, Arctic sailing brings its own uncertainties, including floating ice and limited seabed mapping in some areas.
Size, distance and risk
Capacity is another concern. A fully operational hospital ship can host about 1,000 patients and requires roughly 3,000 crew and medical staff, bringing the total onboard to around 4,000 people.
Greenland’s ports are comparatively small. In Nuuk, TV2 notes, container traffic and other routine harbor activity leave limited room for a vessel the size of Mercy or Comfort. If unable to dock, the ship might have to anchor offshore.
That distance complicates emergency planning. A serious hull breach caused by submerged ice, for example, would make evacuation far more difficult in cold, remote waters.
“If something happens to such a ship – if, for example, it hits ice – you simply cannot rescue the people so far from land,” Kristensen said. He added that nighttime navigation in icy conditions can quickly escalate into crisis situations, “just as we saw with the Titanic.”
In his assessment to TV2, without significant preparation and infrastructure adjustments, the proposal would be unrealistic.
Source: TV2 Denmark
