Guarding the Arctic Gate

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6175915728614917733.post-10960760440650088062008-01-25T10:47:00.001+01:002008-03-07T17:46:09.426+01:002008-03-07T17:46:09.426+01:00Guarding the Arctic GateAnnually the Norwegian Coast Guard control more than 3000 vessels in the economic zone around the Norwegian mainland, Svalbard and Jan Mayen. Around 70 percent of the Coast Guard’s resources are used on inspections; other tasks are in the areas of exercise of sovereignty, search and rescue preparedness, ambulance service and assistance to the fishing fleet. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_oKSTi9lYuzk/R9FwSxtG-3I/AAAAAAAAAD0/XMyQ4aEAn_Y/s1600-h/kystvakten.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_oKSTi9lYuzk/R9FwSxtG-3I/AAAAAAAAAD0/XMyQ4aEAn_Y/s320/kystvakten.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175040914707905394" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.norwegianmoose.com/uploaded_images/kystvakten-756925.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.norwegianmoose.com/uploaded_images/kystvakten-755758.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a> KV Harstad The personnel of the vessels consist of naval officers, conscripts and civilians. Coast Guard officers undergo a different training than the rest of the Norwegian Naval Forces. A Coast Guard officer has to be familiar with the various acts, laws and regulations, which regulate the various tasks the Coast Guard has in accordance with the Coast Guard Act. A large part of the education is based on fisheries regulations, but also a necessary understanding of all the other laws has to be established. As a Coast Guard officer you must be able to balance between being a military officer, civilian authority and police officer. On the vessels there are also civilian navigators and crew that are working there as a consequence of a unique military/civilian partnership. Some of the ships of the Norwegian Coast Guard have been hired from ship owners on a ten-year lease. The commanding officer of the ship is military but the day-to-day running and maintenance of the ship is the duty of the civilian ship owner. A structure like this makes it possible to conduct better economic analysis and control over future expenses. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_oKSTi9lYuzk/R9FweBtG-4I/AAAAAAAAAD8/yyvENnRxcKY/s1600-h/control.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_oKSTi9lYuzk/R9FweBtG-4I/AAAAAAAAAD8/yyvENnRxcKY/s320/control.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175041107981433730" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.norwegianmoose.com/uploaded_images/control-711155.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.norwegianmoose.com/uploaded_images/control-711150.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a> Ongoing inspection All the Coast Guard vessels are continuously on patrol, operated by two separate crews. Each crew is on patrol for three weeks followed by 32 hours at the base for debriefing, crew change, refueling, supplying and briefing of the relieving crew before the next three weeks patrol. The philosophy is to ensure presence at sea with required capabilities. This means that the main goal of the Coast Guard is to have the ships and A/C, the required expertise, and the necessary authority where they are needed at sea at all times. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_oKSTi9lYuzk/R9Fw5BtG-5I/AAAAAAAAAEE/tBAa6LShVFc/s1600-h/bg-icebreaker-svalbard-9.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_oKSTi9lYuzk/R9Fw5BtG-5I/AAAAAAAAAEE/tBAa6LShVFc/s320/bg-icebreaker-svalbard-9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175041571837901714" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.norwegianmoose.com/uploaded_images/bg-icebreaker-svalbard-9-715519.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.norwegianmoose.com/uploaded_images/bg-icebreaker-svalbard-9-715514.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> KV Svalbard The Royal Norwegian Navy offshore patrol vessel KV Svalbard was constructed by Langsten AG at Tangen Verft shipyard in Krageroe and launched on February 17, 2001. She was christened December 15 in Tomrefjord with Minister of Defence Kristin Krohn Devold as godmother, and delivered to the Kystvakt on January 18, 2002. She entered service mid-2002 and is homeported in Sortland. Her primary operating area is in the Arctic waters north of Norway, the Barents Sea and around the Svalbard islands. General Characteristics * Missions: - fishery inspection - enforcement of sovereignty - search and rescue - environmental protection - research and expedition support * Displacement: 6500 tons * Length: 103.7 meters overall, 89.0 meters waterline * Beam: 19.1 meters * Height: 8.3 meters * Draft 6.5 meters * Power: four 3390 kilowatt BRG-8 diesel generators * Propulsion: two five-megawatt Azipod electric thrusters * Aircraft: capacity for two helicopters; one Lynx carried initially <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_oKSTi9lYuzk/R9FxOhtG-6I/AAAAAAAAAEM/7IxbSpdvHK0/s1600-h/coastguard.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_oKSTi9lYuzk/R9FxOhtG-6I/AAAAAAAAAEM/7IxbSpdvHK0/s320/coastguard.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175041941205089186" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.norwegianmoose.com/uploaded_images/coastguard-746791.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.norwegianmoose.com/uploaded_images/coastguard-746784.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a> The Norwegian Economic ZoneNorwegianMoosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15879206853013582078noreply@blogger.com