Hdms Hvidbjørnen (translated as polar bear) is a Thetis-class ocean patrol vessel belonging to the Royal Danish Navy.
The Thetis-class ocean patrol
vessels or Ocean patrol frigates, also called Stanflex 3000, is a class of
large patrol vessels built for the Royal Danish Navy. The class comprises four
ships, all built and commissioned in the early 1990s. The ships' tasks are
mainly maintenance of sovereignty, search and rescue, fishery inspection and
support to local (mainly Greenlandic) authorities. The operation areas are normally
Greenland and the Faroe Islands, but the vessels also operate near Iceland on transit between Greenland and the
Faroe Islands, and near Denmark.
The ships each have
double-skinned ice-reinforced hulls so that the ships can break through 80
centimetres (31 in) of solid ice. Thetis has undergone a conversion, first
to participate in the CANUMAS-project, and later to become the fleet's
flagship, a role that ended in SEP 2007. The Danish Navy has retrofitted the
vessels with 12.7-millimetre (0.50 in) heavy machine guns, Stinger
launchers and decoy launching systems. The ships can carry and use multiple StanFlex
mission modules.
In the most common role (ocean
patrol), the standard base crew is 47 persons and 16 conscripts, but in either
command ship role or more warfare heavy roles, the base crew is expanded to 60
persons plus 4 aircrew for the Westland Lynx Mk.90B and one or two doctors.
Accommodation is available for 101 personnel in all.
Hdms Hvidbjørnen is seen here alongside in Leith before participating in Joint Warrior 13-2
