Tensions remain high: Soldiers arrive in Greenland

Namely, Denmark will send the Soviet cruiser MS “Ocean Endeavour”, which is to serve as a floating barracks for 150 Danish soldiers.

Last Friday, this 1,762-ton giant set sail from Ouistreham, France, reports Bild, citing sources from the Danish military.

“Some of the Danish and international soldiers participating in the ‘Arctic Resilience’ exercise in Greenland will be accommodated on the hotel ship Ocean Endeavour starting in early February. The hotel ship will be anchored in the port of Nuuk,” the Danish military said in a response to the German newspaper.

Danish Defence Command / UPI / Profimedia

The hotel ship has been rented to avoid placing additional strain on hotel capacity in Nuuk, and it is noted that this allows soldiers to live in comfortable conditions without the need for temporary accommodation on land.

Tour operator Polaris Tours, which owns the ship, stated that it was renovated in 2014 and has since served as an expedition vessel in polar waters.

“Facilities include a restaurant, three lounges, an observation deck, a library, a sauna, a heated outdoor saltwater pool, and multi-berth cabins. The ship is 137 meters long and 21 meters wide,” the statement says.

The previous owner of the Ocean Endeavour, the U.S. shipping company SunStone, put the ship up for sale in October 2025.

The vessel was originally ordered in 1982 by the Soviet Far East Shipping Company as a ferry under the name Konstantin Simonov, and 44 years later it will serve as accommodation for soldiers, with the intention of deterring Russia in the Arctic, reports Bild.