- This is an important increase, as there was a reduction of both ships and tonnage in the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS) up until 2015, says acting head of the Department of Ship Registers, Mr. Ole Kamlund.
One of the ships which has added a substantial amount of tonnage over the last days, is the tanker "Eco Queen". This is a sister vessel to "Eco Future" and "Eco Leader" which were both flagged in NIS this summer.
The current total gross register tonnage in NIS is 14.8 million tons. This number means a great deal more than most are aware of. To Norway as a maritime nation, and to those who operate within the maritime industry in Norway, this is an important number to monitor.
– Our vote in the international maritime fora, first and foremost in the UN's shipping agency IMO, is weighed against the size of our fleet tonnage, so this is both a positive and an important development, Director General Mr. Olav Akselsen points out.
The tonnage is also related to the positive trend of the number of ships in NIS. From January 2015 to mid-September 2016 the NIS register has grown from 522 to 573 ships.