Olavsvern

Olavsvern is a decommissioned Royal Norwegian Navy base located just outside the city of Tromsø. [1] It is located along the European route E8 at the entrance to the Ramfjorden from the Balsfjorden.

Aerial View of Ramfjord
Olavsvern
Part of Haakonsvern
Tromsø, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
Olavsvern
Coordinates69.5309°N 19.0125°E / 69.5309; 19.0125
TypeAuxiliary military base
Site information
OwnerTriko AS
Controlled byRoyal Norwegian Navy
Site history
Built1967 (1967)
In use1967 (1967)-2009 (2009)

History & Operations

During the Cold War, Norway wanted a secret naval base within the Arctic Circle.[2] The base was essentially carved into a mountain just outside the city of Tromsø. It is a massive complex constructed at a cost of 4 billion Kroner burrowed into a mountain. It lost its status as an Orlogsstasjon (navy base) in 2002 and was consequently closed down in 2009 by the government of Jens Stoltenberg.[3]

Accidents

In 2005, an accident in a scuba exercise inside the base led to the death of SBS commander Lieutenant Colonel Richard van der Horst.[4] The accident involved a swimmer delivery vehicle during an amphibious exercise.[5]

Decommissioning

The base was closed down in 2009 and put up for sale by the Norwegian government for 105 million Norwegian kroner (17.5 million USD) in 2011 and later sold for 38 million Kroner to a firm that announced its purpose as a maintenance base for oil platform rigs and drilling equipment. NATO had said that the Norwegian government could decommission the base as neither of them had a need for the base.[6][7][8]

Current Status

It has now been rented by companies from Russia linked to state-owned Gazprom .[9][10] Suspected Russian military activity aboard research vessels has concerned military experts, with Norwegian retired vice admiral Jan Reksten, former military second in command stating, ""Russia is a country where the state has a say over all commercial or semi-state business. It's clear, very few people know what happens on these vessels," stating the sale of Olavsvern was "a double loss" as "Norway's armed forces lost an important base and now there are Russian vessels docked there."[3][11]

References
  1. Finberg, Vegar; Thomas Kjemperud (12 February 2009). "The largest EOD exercise in Nato". Norwegian Armed Forces. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  2. How Norway lost control of its own secret $500 million Arctic naval base - Quartz - By Kabir Chibber
  3. Russian ships in old Arctic NATO base set alarms bells ringing - Yahoo News
  4. Bakkeli, Tom & Tetlie, Marius (18 March 2005). "Tragisk død for britisk offiser". VG Nyheter (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  5. Lt-Col Richard Van der Horst - Telegraph UK
  6. Rapp, Ole Magnuss (17 December 2011). "Nå kan sivile kjøpe marinebase" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  7. Price, John (18 December 2011). "Naval base for sale in Norway". the Foreigner. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  8. Pettersen, Trude (30 May 2012). "Arctic submarine base for sale". Barents Observer. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  9. Former military brass express Russia concerns - The Local
  10. Braw, Elizabeth (19 March 2015). "The Secret Norwegian Submarine Base Being Rented by the Russians". Newsweek.
  11. Hur utnyttjar Ryssland ubåtsbasen Olavsvern? - Nyheter - Samhälle - Rysslands röst
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