In 1961 the so-called ‘Red Crusader incident’ came close to igniting a cod war between Denmark and Great Britain. In June 1961 the Aberdeen trawler Red Crusader was spotted fishing within the 6-mile limit around the Faroe Islands. The Danish frigate Niels Ebbesen was despatched to intervene. Two Danish seamen boarded the trawler but during the night they were locked up and the trawler attempted to escape. The Danish frigate responded with warning shots and live rounds, damaging the ship and endangering those on board. Two Royal Navy vessels intervened and escorted the trawler to Aberdeen. The British press reported sensationally on the incident but both governments acted to defuse the issue. They were in the process of renegotiating fishing rights in Faroese waters and did not want this jeopardized. An independent commission was later established in the Hague to adjudicate on the matter. It concluded that Red Crusader had been within Faroese waters but had not been fishing and that Commander Sølling had acted disproportionately in firing directly at the trawler. No further action was taken and the incident concluded without any serious rift in Danish British relations.


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    Title :

    The Danish Frigate Niels Ebbesen’s Pursuit of the Scottish Trawler Red Crusader, 1961


    Additional title:

    <italic>The Frigate ‘Niels Ebbesen’ ’s Pursuit of the Trawler ‘Red Crusader’, 1961</italic>
    <italic>The Mariner’s Mirror</italic>


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    The Mariner's Mirror ; 111 , 2 ; 186-202


    Publication date :

    2025-04-03


    Size :

    17 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English