Norwegian Emergency Towing Service – Past – Present and Future

The Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) is an agency of the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, and is responsible for services related to maritime safety, maritime infrastructure, transport planning and efficiency, and emergency response to acute pollution and drifting vessels. NCA has five regional Vessel Traffic Service centres. Of those, Vardø VTS has the special task of monitoring high-risk maritime traffic in Norwegian territorial waters, including the sea areas around Svalbard. Based on the history of ship incidents in Norwegian waters and lack of commercial tug resources in Northern Norway and the Svalbard area, the government decided in 2005 to establish a national emergency towing service. The establishment and coordination of this service was assigned to the Norwegian Coastal Administration. This paper briefly describes the development of the Norwegian Emergency Towing Service (NETS), how the service has changed over the years and plans for the coming years. Some cases involving emergency towing vessels are described. The paper also reviews the development of a national competence plan for senior officers on vessels employed by the Norwegian Emergency Towing Service