Greenland claims it does not need an American hospital ship

“President Donald Trump proposed the idea of ​​dispatching a hospital ship to support Greenland. We acknowledge this, but no thanks,” Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen wrote on social networks today.

Prime Minister Nielsen said that Greenland already has a public health system that specializes in free treatment for people. “It’s an intentional choice and a fundamental part of our society, whereas in America it’s not like that and you have to pay to see a doctor,” he said.

Greenland officials affirmed that the island government is always ready for dialogue and cooperation, including with the US. “However, let’s talk instead of making statements on social networks. This also requires respect for our decisions,” Mr. Nielsen wrote.

Danish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen on the same day confirmed that Greenlanders will receive on-site health care as required and will be brought back to Denmark if specialized treatment is needed. “There is no need for any special medical initiatives on Greenland,” Deputy Prime Minister Poulsen said, adding that he did not know about the move to deploy a US hospital ship to the island.

President Trump said on January 21 that the US is sending a modern hospital ship to Greenland “to care for the many sick people who cannot get treatment.” Mr. Trump did not name the ship, but posted a photo showing the USNS Mercy hospital ship moving toward the snow-capped mountains on the horizon.

The Danish military had previously sent a helicopter to take a sailor from a US submarine off the coast of Greenland to a hospital in the capital Nuuk for emergency treatment, but the cause and condition of this person was unknown.

At the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January, President Trump said he and NATO leaders had reached a framework for an agreement on Greenland. He also reiterated his desire to control the island but affirmed that he had no plans to use force.

The hospital ship Mercy belongs to the class of the same name and is the third largest ship in the US navy after the Nimitz and Gerald R. Ford class super aircraft carriers. The Mercy class was originally a supertanker built in the 1970s, then purchased by the US Navy and converted into a hospital ship, put into service in the period 1986-1987.

Each ship is 272 m long, has a water displacement of more than 70,000 tons, possesses 1,000 hospital beds, 12 operating rooms and many medical equipment. The US hospital ship is designed for the task of examining and treating soldiers operating on warships. In addition, the ship also performs international humanitarian missions in areas of war or natural disasters around the world.