FRP, Venstre and Raudt demand answers from the Minister of Defense after detailed information about the Norwegian seabed has been sold to 230 Russian ships. Keeping the details of the seabed secret is seen by the government as a “vital national security consideration”. This is the home field advantage for Norway along our coast, and makes it easier to defend the country and create trouble for the enemy. news has told how detailed maps have nevertheless been stored and distributed with the help of the company Olex in Trondheim. The mapping has taken place through large-scale online work from thousands of customers at sea. The software costs around NOK 30,000. The area in Haakonsvern, the Norwegian navy’s main base, has also been mapped. – FRP believes it is completely unacceptable that this type of information is distributed to recipients who are not supposed to have such charts. We expect the responsible ministry to investigate what has happened in this case. The armed forces must tighten up their routines, says Frp leader Sylvi Listhaug. FRP leader Sylvi Listhaug. Photo: Ole Berg Rusten / NTB – Very serious The Norwegian Armed Forces confirm that they knew about the survey, and admit that it is “unfortunate that no charges have been brought”. Storting representative from Venstre Alfred Bjørlo, believes the map is information that should never come into Russian hands. – I think it is very serious. For a long time, we have had an overly naive relationship with Russia’s ability and willingness to monitor Norway. The Liberal Party will raise the matter in the Storting. He receives support from the manager of Raudt, Bjørnar Moxnes. – If the Armed Forces have known about this, without anyone having intervened, then it seems incomprehensible. In that case, the Minister of Defense should urgently take action to stop this, clean it up, and clarify what the Defense and the Ministry of Defense have known and why no one has intervened, says Moxnes. Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp). Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB The government would rather open up more The Minister of Defense will not answer news’s questions in this matter. In an e-mail from the Ministry of Defence’s press officer, Marita Isaksen Wangberg, the ministry writes that in future the government would rather open up more to the use of bottom data for business and researchers. – We wish to liberalize the current administrative regime, and ensure that information is not security graded to a greater extent than necessary, writes Wangberg. The Mapping Authority must also be able to downgrade, and hand over detailed information, without obtaining consent from the Norwegian Armed Forces. – As of today, it is assumed that the use of sonar and the Olex system for fishing, or other legal activities, is not covered by the ban, writes Wangberg. The ministry nevertheless maintains that “technological development and changing use of methods and tools” could have an impact on what fell within the ban. – Therefore, the government is considering whether the sharing of map information should only take place in cases where such services have an agreement with the governing authorities, so that the databases come under the control of the governing authorities, the ministry wrote to news. According to Olex, the Norwegian Armed Forces and the Mapping Authority have been aware of the activity through various meetings since 1997, and use this as a basis for not breaking the law. Daily manager and owner, Ole Benjamin Hestvik, points out that the quality of the map varies depending on how much sea traffic there is in an area. The Norwegian Defense Forces have previously refused to comment on what they think about the fact that the waters inside the Haakonsvern naval base have been mapped. Nor will the Minister of Defense or the ministry do that. A ship with sonar equipment measures the seabed in the computer program Olex. The result is detailed seabed maps. Here you can see deepenings in the seabed. Visualization: Anders Nøkling Experts are worried Fyrsteamanuensis at the Naval Academy Åse Gilje Østensen, says there are important reasons to keep the details of the seabed in Norway secret. Therefore, the level of detail in the Mapping Authority’s open maps is limited. The Mapping Authority also has far more detailed maps which are a national secret. – Having detailed information about bottom conditions is very useful for both enemy minelaying operations and submarine operations. Russia has large stocks of sea mines, both older and very modern types, says Østensen. In a war situation, with high-resolution maps it will be easier to hide mines, and place them in places where the damage potential is greatest. Following Østensen, the Norwegian navy has for years used the Norwegian underwater topography to its advantage. – This type of map is also an advantage for an enemy planning submarine operations in Norwegian waters. That will make it easier to hide, and harder for us to find them, says Østensen. The submarine KNM Uredd. Photo: Anton Ligaarden Fishermen: – We can’t fish blindly But the fishing industry says they are completely dependent on being able to map the seabed. Over 5,000 fishing vessels have chart plotter equipment on board, says senior adviser Jan Henrik Sandberg of the Norwegian Fishermen’s Association. – It cannot be banned with a tool that the fishermen have depended on for several years, we cannot fish blindly. The fishing association provides that today’s use is legal. The fishermen use the map to look for good fishing spots, and avoid losing fishing gear. – Use of information about the seabed in fishing grounds should not be problematic. At the same time, there are areas that may be important to shield against mapping. We should be able to achieve both, says Sandberg. Østensen warns against politicians allowing business interests to gain too much influence. – In a security policy crisis, which we are actually in now, one must dare to make some unpopular choices in order for the Armed Forces to be able to do their job. Unfortunately, in my personal opinion, Norwegian politicians have prioritized jobs in the fishing industry too much in relation to the country’s security so far in this crisis.
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Strong reactions to detailed sea charts for Russia – news Vestland
