“The situation in the north is changing constantly. To meet the new challenges, we must be as well-equipped as possible. Therefore has the Government decided to include to the State Budget the construction of a new helicopter-carrying and ice-strengthened vessel planned to be delivered in 2016,” says Minister of Defense Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen.
The new Coast Guard vessel will be the most expensive ever ordered by Norway. Depending on the offer following the tender, the price tag is estimated to be between 500 million to one billion NOK (€62 million to €124 million). The new vessel will replace the 30 years old “KV Andenes” that have sailed the Norwegian- and Barents Seas.
Defense Minister Strøm-Erichsen says the new Coast Guard vessel will represent a technological quantum jump compared with the older vessels.
“The Coast Guard meets requirements and expectations from many stakeholders, including fisheries, aquaculture and the petroleum industry. Environmental protection preparedness is also a requirement that becomes more important in the future. It is therefore important that we have vessels which can meet these challenges. We must watch and preferable stay ahead technologically,” says Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen.
The announcement was made when the Minister of Defense visited the Coast Guard’s homeport in Sortland in Northern-Norway on Monday.
Norway’s largest Coast Guard vessel today is the ice-breaker “KV Svalbard” delivered in 2001.
