The best navy in Europe
-Norway is about to get the best navy in Europe, Norwegian Navy admiral Jan Eirik Finseth says. By year 2010, Norway will have five brand new and top modern frigates. They will all have the High North as their priority area.
The Navy is about to become the modern instrument which Norway and the High North need, Mr. Finseth told newspaper Aftenposten. He confirms that the multipurpose frigates, although based outside Bergen, will have the North as their main field of operation. Protection of fish, oil and gas resources, as well as the protection of Norwegian sovereignty, is the Navys task, he adds. The first of the new Norwegian frigates, the Fridtjof Nansen was handed over to the Norwegian Navy by Spanish shipyard Empresa Nacional Bazán in spring 2006. Last year, the Roald Amundsen sailed towards Norway, while the Otto Sverdrup will head towards northern waters this spring. The last of the frigates, the Thor Heyerdal will be taken over by the Norwegian Navy in 2010. Although the number of vessels has decreased significantly, the quality and efficiency have become far better, admiral Finseth stresses. All the new vessels will be equipped with a helicopter.
