The Royal Yacht Dannebrog - a Danish workplace

Role model

The Royal Yacht Dannebrog is the Navy's No. 1 ship, commanded by the Queen's Hunting Captain. He sets the tone for a value-based management style on board, emphasising professionalism, cooperation and readiness for change. Dannebrog serves as the official and private residence for the royal family on summer cruises in Denmark or when they are on official overseas visits. In short, it's about exposing the Royal Yacht when the regent is on board. Therefore, the ship appears polished and shiny. The ship always arrives at the harbour at the agreed time, the crew arrives on time and makes a virtue of ensuring that everything works.

"As an officer, I am a role model for the conscripts. It's about having a behaviour that you want them to adopt. Not just saying it, but also doing it in practice. It's important to show leadership and direction to maintain well-being on board. When the conscripts come here, they know the basic behaviour at sea, but they learn different routines, procedures and traditions on board along the way," explains Jakob Jørgensen. He has been employed on the Royal Yacht since June 2022. On board, he is responsible for the ship's engines and safety in connection with liquids such as water and fuel. He is a qualified engineer from Aarhus and has also taken modules in military management.
 
Professionally interesting

He manages seven employees - one constable and six conscripts. They have professional training and at least four years' experience as a blacksmith, electrician or mechanic to be able to work in the engine room of the Royal Yacht, which is often a hot place with at least 30 degrees. The ship was built in 1932, so there's plenty to maintain. Professionally speaking, it's an interesting job: "It's exciting with the atypical tasks that can arise in the engine. Things change over time, but the experienced eyes need to be able to see what faults may be on the way and thus often mitigate them before they occur. Most of the equipment is from the 1980s, when the engine room was replaced, while the ship is from 1932," says Jakob Jørgensen. He is in the engine room every day, where his crew know their trade.

Danish crew

The difference between the Royal Yacht and other ships is that the task is so much different: "We sail with the regent of the country, so we have to be presentable. For example, we don't just paint the ship to maintain it. We know that appearance is important.

On board, we are all Danish citizens, and that makes a difference to the culture, unity and social environment. We are divided into three groups: officers, sergeants and privates. Each group eats separately, but we eat the same food, so there's no difference. Typically, you socialise within the group you're part of. Officers and sergeants have their own mess hall, while the enlisted men have a cafeteria, which is their free space.

The ship is divided into three divisions; technical, supply and operational with close contact between the divisions.
The sailing period typically lasts from April to October, with virtually no days off, and no more than a week's holiday if the Majesty is away. You can have time off with on-call duty. There are always two on duty - an officer on watch and a sergeant on watch, as well as shifts of enlisted men. The ship is never completely alone.