 Director general Olav Akselsen of the NMA. |
During the Haugesund Conference, Director General, Mr. Olav Akselsen, gave a number of reasons for the ship owners to choose the Norwegian flag.
He informed that in the year 2000, approximately 60 percent of the Norwegian owned ships carried the Norwegian flag. In 2012 the share had reduced to approximately 40 percent.
- The fact is that as much as 1000 «Norwegian» ships are flying a foreign flag. “We have to do something about this», says Akselsen, and asked a question: “What determines the choice of flag?”
“I will tell you; general terms, service and emotions”, he replied.
He pointed out that Norway and NIS are in a competitive situation, as it is the privilege of the ship owner to choose the country in which he wants to register his ships. The services provided by the Norwegian Maritime Authority are therefore constantly compared to the services of other registries.
After contact meetings with a number of ship owners across the country, the feedback is that service is one of the most important factors considered by the ship owners when they choose flag, says Akselsen, and listed their definition of service: short response time, available employees, good electronic services and a tight dialogue. In addition, no Norwegian special requirements.
Akselsen also listed many of the measures already taken by the Norwegian Maritime Authority to meet the needs and requirements of the maritime industry: digitalization of services, improved service regarding registration in the Norwegian registries (NIS and NOR), an appointed contact person, simplification of the document requirements and an extended emergency telephone service.
He then stated that the strategy of the Norwegian Maritime Authority has one main objective, and that is for the NMA to become the preferred maritime administration.
- Yes, the Norwegian Maritime Authority is indeed a good reason for ship owners to fly the Norwegian flag.