Denmark Just Signed On to Help Rebuild American Shipyards. This Is What Allies Who Build Look Like
On Oct. 22, the United States and Denmark signed a maritime cooperation memorandum to train American shipbuilders faster, draw Danish investment to U.S. yards and bring in advanced Danish ship technology. In our view, it is a smart first step for President Trump's maritime revival, and it now needs contracts to follow.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 23, 2026 | 6-min read American shipyards once built the fleets that won a world war. Rebuilding that strength is one of President Trump's boldest goals, and his administration's Maritime Action Plan calls for doing it alongside allied maritime nations [1]. On Thursday, one of the world's great seafaring nations signed up. The United States and Denmark signed a memorandum of understanding on maritime cooperation designed to train America's shipbuilding workforce faster, attract Danish investment to U.S. shipyards and help American builders construct and repair vessels "more quickly and at a lower cost" [2]. In our view, this is exactly what a productive alliance looks like. Key Takeaways Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen signed the memorandum on Oct. 22 [2]. The State Department says the deal advances President Trump's Executive Order on Restoring America's Maritime Dominance and the Maritime Action Plan [2]. The memorandum sets up three tracks: education and training; equipment, technology and services; and defense industrial and dual-use cooperation [1].