Faulty Danish Missile Test Closes Strategic Shipping Strait

Written by Connor Foster | April 8, 2024

A Harpoon missile at the USS Bowfin Museum at Pearl Harbor

Earlier today the Danish frigate HDMS Niels Juel was conducting a test on a Harpoon missile when it malfunctioned, potentially creating a safety issue for any vessels nearby. The Danish military has stated that the missile was activated during the test and cannot be deactivated thus far. As a result, the Danish government has closed the airspace and sea traffic through the Great Belt Strait, which is where the exercise was taking place. Denmark took the precaution of closing the entire strait because until the missile can officially be deactivated there is a risk that if fired it could travel several kilometers away. 

Denmark’s National Maritime Authority has communicated the closure to all ships that planned on going through the strait, warning of a potential for falling missile fragments. This closure could impose negative impacts on international trade depending on how long the danger continues. The Great Belt Strait, as a part of the Danish Straits more broadly, is one of the most strategically valuable shipping straits by volume in the world. Although this may be a short-lived issue for global trade, it reflects the larger dilemma that our current international economy faces. Integral shipping straits have been closed for a variety of reasons, such as the Houthi missile attacks in the Red Sea or the impact of climate change on water levels in the Panama Canal. International trade is heavily reliant on strategic and time-saving water routes to make timely deliveries and secure profit. Moving forward, companies participating in international trade must be flexible in finding alternative methods to ship products when security, economic, or environmental issues block current routes.