“The preparedness at sea will fade,” says Torbjørn Bongo, deputy head of the Norwegian Military Officers’ Association to NRK Nordnytt.
For 2013, the Coast Guard gets NOK 60 million (€8 million) less than needed to maintain its activity on the present level.
“This can’t be consistent with the government’s objective of strengthening the Coast Guard, extend the presence and keep a sustainable management in northern waters,” says Thorbjørn Bongo.
The Coast Guard is Norway’s primary authority in control of fishery along the coast, in the Norwegian- and Barents Seas and in the waters around Svalbard. The Coast Guard also plays an important role in emergency preparedness and rescue operations.
Bongo says to NRK Nordnytt that the consequences of not getting the needed funding will be that most of the vessels will have lie alongside the quay for two extra months.
