Captain Vidar Strønstad's beautiful and timeless photo of a cormorant was awarded the first prize as the 75 best entries from seafarers with a connection to Nordic countries were evaluated in Turku, Finland, in February.
Also on the podium were helicopter inspector Håkon Kjøllmoen on KV Svalbard and captain Bjarne Hovland on KL Sandefjord with their outstanding photos. The latter even achieved a "hat-trick" in the Norwegian photo contest by winning both the first, third and fourth place.
A total of 274 entries from 58 seafarers of many nationalities were submitted for the Norwegian photo contest. They competed for coveted prizes and participation in the Nordic final. The jury selected five winning photos and awarded honourable mentions to ten additional photos. All of these qualified for the Nordic final, where they were evaluated on equal terms along with the 15 best photos from each of the national contests in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden.
Besides glory, the winners receive cash prizes of various amounts for the purchase of photo equipment of their choice. The NMA is grateful for all competition entries, and several of the pictures will be used in different contexts in the time to come. For now, we invite you to take a film tour on the high seas through a number of stunning photos from the photo contest. Watch the film on our Facebook page
Remember that this year's photo contest is already underway. We accept photos throughout the year, so please submit your entries by e-mail to the Norwegian Government Seamen's Service.