The relaxing of trade areas in NIS are a result of developments in the Norwegian government strategy on maritime growth. Here are the main changes in summary:
- Cargo ships are now permitted to carry cargo between ports on Svalbard and between Svalbard and the mainland
- Cargo ships where a significant part of the ship’s activities takes place outside of Norwegian waters are permitted to carry cargo between Norwegian ports as a part of a regular route between a Norwegian and a foreign port or as carriage of petroleum in bulk from a unit on the Norwegian continental shelf or occasionally for up to 3 months. The Norwegian Maritime Authority controls that the conditions are satisfied.
- Extension of trade area for special cargo ships: In addition to the trade area extension above, cargo ships constructed or equipped to carry special types of cargo are permitted to carry such cargo between Norwegian ports when the ship is en route to or from a foreign port and the carriage does not form part of a regular scheduled service. The master must be a Norwegian national or a national of an EEA country. It is a condition that such carriage leads to a rational utilization of the tonnage available, and does not involve undesirable consequences for ships registered in the Norwegian Ordinary Ship Register.
The changes in trade areas for vessels in the NIS are connected to the strengthening of the current subsidy for employment of seafarers both for NIS and NOR ships in that, according to various models, the company will receive grants for payment of advanced tax deduction, social security contributions and payroll taxes.