On Monday, the Home Guard is in place at several Norwegian land plants. In the last week, the preparedness at Norwegian oil and gas facilities has been increased following the supposed sabotage against the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. The need for the Norwegian Maritime Safety Agency has thus been brought up again. – To put it very simply, we were right. We warned against it, and unfortunately we were right, says retired Commander Captain Svein Jarle Jacobsen. Retired Commander Captain Svein Jarle Jacobsen was head of the Norwegian Maritime Guard. Photo: news He was head of the Norwegian Maritime Safety Agency and the Norwegian Maritime Safety Agency’s Training and Competence Centre, and believes that an important job was done. – They were the ones who, in a cost-effective and cheap way, took care of the Home Guard’s needs on the sea side. The defunct Maritime Security Agency was well sized to look after the sea side, and Norway’s safety should be prioritized. – It is now or never The Norwegian Maritime Guard cost around NOK 80 million annually to operate, and Jacobsen hopes the politicians will now re-establish the Norwegian Maritime Guard. – Around society now there is relatively fresh maritime home security expertise among people who graduated or joined the land home security. It is now or never if we are going to get these in, in order to build up the Norwegian Maritime Guard quickly. In a few years, that expertise will have weathered, and then it will take several years to get it up and running again. Home security in place at the Nyhamna gas plant in Aukra. Armed soldiers from the Home Guard stand guard at a number of land facilities across Norway after the security level has been raised. Photo: Eirik Haukenes / news Uncover possible threats Red has proposed that the Norwegian Maritime Guard be restored when the state budget for 2023 is to be considered. The closure of the Norwegian Maritime Guard in 2017 was highly controversial both politically and among people in the Norwegian Armed Forces. – We need a Maritime Home Guard to monitor what happens in the archipelago and the harbours, says Bjørnar Moxnes. Photo: Lisbeth Skei / news – We need more eyes, ears and soldiers along the coast to monitor and uncover possible threats to Norway. With the Coast Guard, we had available 130 boats, divers and over 2,000 soldiers who looked after us, and we need this in a time of increasing tension, says party leader in Rødt, Bjørnar Moxnes, to news. The Conservative Party, the Progress Party and the Labor Party secured a majority for the decision when the long-term plan for the Armed Forces was considered. Moxnes adds that Norway’s most important assets lie along the coast, such as oil, gas, electricity and network cables. – I wholeheartedly support the proposal to re-establish the Norwegian Maritime Safety Board and hope that political prestige does not go between Labor, the Conservative Party and the FRP, says Svein Jarle Jacobsen. Thinks the Home Guard protects the coast well Lieutenant-Colonel Palle Ydstebø is the head teacher at the Norwegian Military Academy, and believes the Home Guard is well suited to protect oil and gas facilities. – Yes, they are. This is the type of security mission the Home Guard has had in the past, including in Tromsø in connection with the American submarine visits this year. Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø believes the Home Guard’s efforts will make a big difference in warding off attacks. Photo: Gunhild Hjermundrud / news – How important would it have been to have the Norwegian Maritime Guard now? – That would have fulfilled the role the Home Guard now has in the country. But there you also have the Coast Guard and other operators who do a job. – Will the Home Guard’s efforts make a big difference in warding off an attack? – It wants to. They will be present quite clearly, and with their combination of local knowledge and the way they operate, with the police and other actors, it will put pressure on anyone who wants to try their hand at these areas. Will not use resources on the Norwegian Maritime Guard now Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp) does not want to say anything concrete about whether the Norwegian Maritime Guard should be restored, but says the government will strengthen and further develop the Norwegian Home Guard as a territorial force with local knowledge and a presence across the country. Christian Tybring Gjedde, Frp’s faction leader in the foreign affairs and defense committee, believes the focus must be on the Armed Forces and cooperation with NATO. Hårek Elvenes, defense policy spokesman in the Conservative Party, believes that a reintroduction of the Norwegian Maritime Guard must be professionally justified. Furthermore, he says that Rødt’s proposal is not the only solution to strengthen the ability to protect critical infrastructure on the NCS. For example, the Norwegian Maritime Safety Agency will not be able to protect cables far out at sea and in deep water, he adds. Read more detailed answers under: Ministry of Defence, Frp and Conservative Party on the Maritime Security According to Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram from the Center Party, the government has already through Meld. St. 10 (2021–2022) have been clear about their ambitions for a further strengthening of the Armed Forces, including the Home Guard. – The government will strengthen and further develop the Home Guard as a territorial force with local knowledge and a presence throughout the country and continuously assesses the need for measures that facilitate sufficient access to capacities and personnel with local roots in the entire structure. The government will see the further strengthening and development of the Home Guard in the context of an overall assessment of the HV’s future utilization and organization in the next long-term plan for the defense sector. Christian Tybring Gjedde, FrP’s faction leader in the foreign affairs and defense committee, believes that the most important thing to increase preparedness and security in Norway is to strengthen all borders in the Norwegian Armed Forces and increase cooperation with NATO allies, not to use resources to restore the Norwegian Maritime Guard, which the Chief of Defense recommended to close down . – If, in the future, the Chief of Defense recommends restoring the Norwegian Maritime Guard, we will of course consider it again then, he says. Hårek Elvenes, defense policy spokesman in the Conservative Party, writes to news that the decision to disband the Norwegian Maritime Guard was made on the basis of the specialist military advice put forward by the Chief of Defense in 2015. – The threats in the coastal zone are complex, and are currently handled both by the Norwegian Navy, HV and The Norwegian special forces. It is natural to see HV’s tasks in the coastal zone as part of a necessary strengthening of coastal defence. At the same time, Rødt’s proposal is not the only solution to strengthen the ability to protect critical infrastructure on the NCS. For example, the Norwegian Maritime Safety Agency will not be able to protect cables far out at sea and in deep water. Furthermore, Elvenes writes: – The Solberg government strengthened the Armed Forces’ ability to handle this type of threat. Among other things, with several new autonomous underwater craft for mine hunting, increased investment in the Norwegian Armed Forces’ special forces’ maritime capacity, new maritime surveillance aircraft, a new intelligence ship and three new coastguard vessels, with a significantly better ability to detect underwater threats. HV also received increased resources for facility security, which is important for securing the land facilities associated with the oil and gas sector. The measures that were implemented have collectively and individually strengthened the ability to protect critical infrastructure at sea and on land. The maritime threats are unpredictable and complex, and can occur both close to land and far out to sea. This requires interaction between vessels, aircraft, special forces and HV, set up with various weapon systems and technology.
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Wants to restore the Norwegian Maritime Guard – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
