The Naval Pilot Authority (Norwegian : Losvesenet) was a government agency responsible for maritime pilotage in Norway between 1899 and 1974. Its central administration was the Naval Pilot Directorate (Losdirektoratet) in Oslo. The operational organization consisted of a varying number of district offices. The authority became part of the Norwegian Coastal Administration from 1 June 1974.
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is the official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional varieties; some Norwegian and Swedish dialects, in particular, are very close. These Scandinavian languages, together with Faroese and Icelandic as well as some extinct languages, constitute the North Germanic languages. Faroese and Icelandic are not mutually intelligible with Norwegian in their spoken form because continental Scandinavian has diverged from them. While the two Germanic languages with the greatest numbers of speakers, English and German, have close similarities with Norwegian, neither is mutually intelligible with it. Norwegian is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era.
A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, 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. Although usage differs, a government agency is normally distinct both from a department or ministry, and other types of public body established by government. The functions of an agency are normally executive in character, since different types of organizations are most often constituted in an advisory role—this distinction is often blurred in practice however.
A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, bar pilot, or simply pilot, is a sailor who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. They are navigational experts possessing knowledge of the particular waterway such as its depth, currents, and hazards.
Pilotage had taken place along the coast of Norway since prehistory. In early times pilots had a competitive regime, where several candidates would race to reach a potential ship to collect the fee. Because of the hard competition, pilots would often fare out in too harsh conditions, frequently meeting an early death. However, the occupation was amongst the best paid in rural areas. From 1720 there were introduced piloting exams. The pilots owned their own boats an hired an assistant, often thei rown sons, to operate the boat for them. From 1899 the competitive pilot system was abolished and a new piloting law was introduced, establishing the Naval Pilot Authority. [1]
Human prehistory is the period between the use of the first stone tools c. 3.3 million years ago by hominins and the invention of writing systems. The earliest writing systems appeared c. 5,300 years ago, but it took thousands of years for writing to be widely adopted, and it was not used in some human cultures until the 19th century or even until the present. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different dates in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently.
The agency was initially organized in three regions, Sønnendfjeldske headquartered in Oslo, Vestenfjeldske in Bergen and Northern Norway based in Tromsø. Each was led by a head pilot (overlos). They were subdivided into a series of pilot olderman district, counting 26 in 1947. The Naval Pilot Directorate, which was based in Oslo, was established as a subsidiary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry on 9 April 1948. It took over the central coordination of the authority, replacing the regions. It was horizontally moved to the Ministry of Fisheries from 1 January 1952. [2]
Bergen, historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Hordaland on the west coast of Norway. At the end of the first quarter of 2018, the municipality's population was 280,216, and the Bergen metropolitan region has about 420,000 inhabitants. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers 465 square kilometres (180 sq mi) and is on the peninsula of Bergenshalvøyen. The city centre and northern neighbourhoods are on Byfjorden, 'the city fjord', and the city is surrounded by mountains; Bergen is known as the 'city of seven mountains'. Many of the extra-municipal suburbs are on islands. Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland, and consists of eight boroughs: Arna, Bergenhus, Fana, Fyllingsdalen, Laksevåg, Ytrebygda, Årstad, and Åsane.
Northern Norway is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway are Mo i Rana, Bodø, Narvik, Harstad, Tromsø and Alta. Northern Norway is often described as the land of the midnight sun and the land of the northern lights. Further north, halfway to the North Pole, is the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, traditionally not regarded as part of Northern Norway.
Tromsø is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Outside Norway, Tromso and Tromsö are alternative spellings of the name.
The directorate was merged with the Lighthouse and Buoy Authority, and the Port Authority on 1 June 1974 to create the Norwegian Coastal Administration. However, the Naval Pilot Authority continued as an independent operational agency until 1980. [3]
Transport in Norway is highly influenced by Norway's low population density, narrow shape and long coastline. Norway has old water transport traditions, but road, rail and air transport have increased in importance during the 20th century. Due to the low population density, public transport is somewhat less built out in rural areas of Norway, however public transport in, and around cities is well developed.
A coast guard or coastguard, is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue functions and lacking any law enforcement powers. However, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from typical functions of both the navy and a transportation police.
Fedje is an island municipality in the Nordhordland region of Hordaland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fedje. The traditional economic activity of the inhabitants is fishing.
The Norwegian Police Security Service is the police security agency of Norway, somewhat comparable to the British MI5. The agency was previously known as POT, the name change was dictated by the Parliament of Norway on 2 June 2001.
The Norwegian Polar Institute is Norway's central governmental institution for scientific research, mapping and environmental monitoring in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The NPI is a directorate under Norway's Ministry of Climate and Environment. The institute advises Norwegian authorities on matters concerning polar environmental management and is the official environmental management body for Norwegian activities in Antarctica.
The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Transportation and Communications is a Norwegian ministry established in 1946, and is responsible for transportation and communication infrastructure in Norway. It is since August 2018 led by Jon Georg Dale. The department must report to the parliament (Stortinget).
The Norwegian National Rail Administration was a government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the Norwegian railway network, including the track, stations, classification yards, traffic management and timetables. Safety oversight was the duty of the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate, while numerous operating companies run trains on the lines; the largest being the state owned passenger company Norges Statsbaner (NSB) and the freight company CargoNet.
The Norwegian Police Service is the Norwegian civilian police agency. It consists of a central National Police Directorate, seven specialty agencies and twelve police districts. The government agency is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and has 16,000 employees, of which 8,000 are police officers. In addition to police powers, the service is responsible for border control, certain civil duties, coordinating search and rescue operations, counter-terrorism, highway patrolling, writ of execution, criminal investigation and prosecution.
The Accident Investigation Board Norway is a government agency which is responsible for investigating transport-related accidents within Norway. Specifically, it investigates aviation accidents and incidents, rail accidents, maritime accidents and select traffic accidents. All investigations aim to find underlying causes and to improve safety; criminal investigation is not part of AIBN's mandate. Subordinate to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the agency is located on the premises of Kjeller Airport in Skedsmo.
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is a Norwegian government agency responsible for national and county public roads in Norway. This includes planning, construction and operation of the national and county road networks, driver training and licensing, vehicle inspection, and subsidies to car ferries.
Norwegian Coastal Administration is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the water transport infrastructure along the 9,200 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 Coastal Directorate (Kystdirektoratet) and is subordinate to the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs. The main office is in Ålesund.
Norway's elongated shape, its numerous internal geographical barriers, and the often widely dispersed and separated nature of its settlement patterns are all factors that have strongly influenced the structure of the country's administrative subdivisions. It is a structure that has not only been subject to modification over time but one that remains subject to continuous review. As of late 2018, plans are nearing completion for a reform of the country's administrative divisions intended to lead, most notably, to the replacement of Norway's current 19 fylker (counties) by 11 new regioner (regions).
The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries is Norwegian government agency On 1 January 2014 it was incorporated into the new Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries formerly under the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs.
The Norwegian Public Safety Network is a public safety network system based on Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA). Nødnett is implemented by the Directorate for Emergency Communication. The network is primarily used for internal and interdisciplinary communication by the police, fire departments and health services. Nødnett is also used by several organisations participating in rescue and emergency work. Planning of the network started in 1995 and in 2006 the contract to build it was awarded to Nokia Siemens Networks. As Nokia Siemens Networks was unable to complete the contract, it was passed on to Motorola Solutions in 2012. The critical infrastructure of Nødnett was finished and was operational in all districts of mainland Norway by December 1, 2015.
Norwegian Customs is a Norwegian government agency under the Ministry of Finance with responsibility for "protecting society against illegal importation and exportation of goods and to ensure government revenues by correct and timely payment of duties and taxes". Since 2017, the agency has been run by customs director Øystein Børmer.
Fedje Vessel Traffic Service Centre, commonly abbreviated Fedje VTS, is a vessel traffic service and pilot station situated on the island of Fedje in Fedje, Norway. Its main responsibility is handling traffic headed to the offshore bases and refineries at Sture and Mongstad.
Fedje Heliport, Høgden is a municipal heliport situated on the island of Fedje in Fedje, Norway. It is predominantly used to fly maritime pilots out of the pilot station at Fedje Vessel Traffic Service Centre. It is also used by air ambulances and as an emergency landing site for offshore helicopters. The heliport was built in 1994.
Kvitsøy Vessel Traffic Service Centre, commonly abbreviated Kvitsøy VTS, is a vessel traffic service and pilot dispatch station situated on the island municipality of Kvitsøy in Norway. Its main responsibility is handling traffic headed to the gas terminal at Kårstø, as well as the entire coast between Bømlafjorden and Jærens Rev. This includes Boknafjorden.
Naval regions and districts were the official shore establishment of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The Kriegsmarine shore establishment was divided into four senior regional commands, who were in turn subordinated to the operational Navy Group commanders who commanded all sea and shore naval forces within a particular geographical region. Within each naval region were several subordinate naval districts who were responsible for all navy shore activities within their area of responsibility, most significantly were the various German ports of occupied Europe.
The Air Division originally known as the Air Section and later known as the Naval Air Division was first established in 1924 and it was a Directorate of the Admiralty Naval Staff, that was initially responsible for operational control of aircraft supplied to the Royal Navy by the Air Ministry. In 1939 it was gained full control for the all matters relating to administration, control, policy and organisation of the Fleet Air Arm, it underwent various name changes until it was absorbed as part of the merger of the Admiralty into the new Ministry of Defence in April 1964 as part of the Navy Department where it continued until May 1966 when its remit was changed and when became the Directorate of Naval Warfare.