Norwegian Coastal Administration
Encyclopedia
Norwegian Coastal Administration is a Norwegian
government agency
responsible for the water transport infrastructure along the 92,000 km Coast of Norway. It is responsible for coastal navigation
infrastructure, pilotage
and harbour and port
infrastructure, including lighthouses
. The agency is led by the Directorate of the Coast (Kystdirektoratet) and is subordinate the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs
. The main office is in Ålesund
.
, Haugesund
, Ålesund
, Kabelvåg
og Honningsvåg
. In 2002 the head office was moved from Oslo
to Ålesund and in 2006 the construction division, Secora
, was demerged
and became a separate limited company
owned by the Ministry of Trade and Industry
. The maritime radio service is provided by Telenor Maritime Radio
.
In 2002, the agency was moved from Oslo to Ålesund, along wit six other directorates and inspectorates, in a program initialized by Victor Norman, Minister of Government Administration and Reform of the Conservative Party. It cost 729 million Norwegian krone
(NOK) to move the seven agencies. An official report from 2009 concluded that the agencies had lost 75 to 90% of their employees, mostly those with long seniority, and that for a while critical functions for society were dysfunctional. No costs reductions had been made, there was no significant impact on the target area, and there was little impact on the communication between the agencies and the ministries. In a 2010 report, Professor Jarle Trondal concluded that none of the agencies had become more independent after the move, despite this being one of the main arguments from the minister. Norman successor, Heidi Grande Røys
of the Socialist Left Party
, stated that the moving had had an important symbolic effect on the target areas, and that she did not see the lack of advantages as a reason to not move similar agencies later.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
government agency
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
responsible for the water transport infrastructure along the 92,000 km Coast of Norway. It is responsible for coastal navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
infrastructure, pilotage
Pilotage
Pilotage is the use of fixed visual references on the ground or sea by means of sight or radar to guide oneself to a destination, sometimes with the help of a map or nautical chart. People use pilotage for activities such as guiding vessels and aircraft, hiking and Scuba diving...
and harbour and port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
infrastructure, including lighthouses
Lighthouses in Norway
See also List of lighthouses in Norway for a sortable list of lighthouses.The coast of Norway is 100,915 km long and there have been a total of 212 lighthouses along it, but no more than 154 have ever been operational at the same time...
. The agency is led by the Directorate of the Coast (Kystdirektoratet) and is subordinate the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs
Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs is a Norwegian ministry responsible for fisheries industry, aquaculture industry, seafood safety, fish health and welfare, harbours, water transport infrastructure and emergency preparedness for pollution incidents. It is led by Lisbeth...
. The main office is in Ålesund
Ålesund
is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture....
.
History
The administration was created in 1974 when the Norwegian Directorate of Harbours, Norwegian Pilotage Administration and the Norwegian Coastal Navigation Administration were merged. It took its present name in 1981, after it had been reorganised into five regional offices, located in ArendalArendal
is a town and municipality in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway. Arendal belongs to the traditional region of Sørlandet.The town of Arendal is the administrative center the municipality and also of Aust-Agder county...
, Haugesund
Haugesund
is a town and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.-Location:Haugesund was separated from Torvastad as a town and municipality of its own in 1855. The rural municipality of Skåre was merged with Haugesund on January 1, 1958. Haugesund is a small municipality, only 73 km²...
, Ålesund
Ålesund
is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture....
, Kabelvåg
Kabelvåg
Kabelvåg is a village in Vågan municipality on the southern shore of Austvågøy island, one of the Lofoten island group in the county of Nordland, northern Norway....
og Honningsvåg
Honningsvåg
at 70° 58' N, in Nordkapp municipality, claims to be the northernmost city in Norway and even in the world, although the title is disputed by Hammerfest, Norway; Barrow, Alaska; and Longyearbyen, Svalbard...
. In 2002 the head office was moved from Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
to Ålesund and in 2006 the construction division, Secora
Secora
Secora is Norwegian government enterprise created in 2005 to perform construction work on water transport infrastructure, both sea lanes and ports. The company was originally part of Kystverket, that is responsible for water transport infrasturcture. Secora is based in Svolvær and has 90 employees....
, was demerged
Demerger
Demerger is a form of corporate restructuring in which the an entity's business operations are segregated into one or more components. It is the converse of a merger or acquisition....
and became a separate limited company
Aksjeselskap
Aksjeselskap is the Norwegian term for a stock-based company. It is usually abbreviated AS or A/S, especially when used in company names. An AS is always a limited company, i.e. the owners cannot be held liable for any debt beyond the stock capital...
owned by the Ministry of Trade and Industry
Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry is a Norwegian ministry responsible for business, trade and industry. It is led by Trond Giske . The department must report to the legislature, Storting.-History:The Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Shipping, Industry, Craft and Fisheries was created...
. The maritime radio service is provided by Telenor Maritime Radio
Telenor Maritime Radio
Telenor Maritim Radio is a subsidiary of Telenor that is responsible for the infrastructure for maritime radio communication in Norway, and also includes five manned coast radio stations whose primary purpose is to monitor the maritime radio traffic Telenor Maritim Radio is a subsidiary of Telenor...
.
In 2002, the agency was moved from Oslo to Ålesund, along wit six other directorates and inspectorates, in a program initialized by Victor Norman, Minister of Government Administration and Reform of the Conservative Party. It cost 729 million Norwegian krone
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
(NOK) to move the seven agencies. An official report from 2009 concluded that the agencies had lost 75 to 90% of their employees, mostly those with long seniority, and that for a while critical functions for society were dysfunctional. No costs reductions had been made, there was no significant impact on the target area, and there was little impact on the communication between the agencies and the ministries. In a 2010 report, Professor Jarle Trondal concluded that none of the agencies had become more independent after the move, despite this being one of the main arguments from the minister. Norman successor, Heidi Grande Røys
Heidi Grande Røys
Heidi Grande Røys is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. She became Minister of Modernisation in 2005, renamed to Minister of Government Administration and Reform since 2006 in the second cabinet Stoltenberg. She was replaced by Rigmor Aasrud in 2009.-References:...
of the Socialist Left Party
Socialist Left Party (Norway)
The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...
, stated that the moving had had an important symbolic effect on the target areas, and that she did not see the lack of advantages as a reason to not move similar agencies later.