Department of Maritime Policy and Coastal Development

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries

Department of Maritime Policy and Coastal Development has overall responsibility for the Ministry's work on maritime industry policies: shipping, shipyards, and maritime equipment and service providers. The Department is responsible for the work on maritime legislation in IMO, ILO and the EU and for national maritime regulations, and has responsibility for the management of the Norwegian Maritime Authority. Department of Maritime Policy and Coastal Development is responsible for maritime related elements in bilateral agreements and within the WTO as well as international maritime market developments. The departement follows the EU maritime work and takes care of the follow-up of the government's Maritime strategy, policies for the environment, research/innovation and maritime skills, maritime financial instruments and short sea shipping.

The department consists of the following sections

  • Maritime Safety and Regulations

    The Section’s responsibilities includes work pertaining to national and international maritime legislation, in matters relating to maritime safety and seafarers’ labour conditions, as well as maritime security. The section participates in several international forums, including the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO), working groups in the EU/EMSA, the Arctic Council/PAME and the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC). The section also oversees the management of the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) and handles appeals regarding the NMA’s decisions.

  • Maritime Policy and Markets

    The Section is responsible for the Ministry's work on framework conditions and instruments for the Maritime Industries. The Section is responsible for coordinating the follow-up of the Government's ocean policies.

  • Coastal Affairs Section

    The Coastal Affairs Section has overall responsibility for maritime transport, preventive maritime safety and contingency planning to combat severe pollution. The section follows up measures and initiatives in maritime transport and preventive maritime safety incorporated in the National Transport Plan, hereunder ports policy, measures relating to ports and fairways, the transfer of goods transport from road to sea and the operation and maintenance of maritime infrastructure. The section is also responsible for public safety and contingency plans and systems in the coastal administration area. Further, the section is also responsible for following up the administration and operation of the community of Jan Mayen. In addition to the above, the section is responsible for The Act Relating to Ports and Fairways (The Port Act), The Act Relating to the Pilotage Service (the Pilotage Act) and segments of the Svalbard Environmental Protection act and the Pollution Control Act. The Department is also responsible for the supervision of the subordinate agencies the Norwegian Coastal Administration and the Centre for Oil Pollution Control and Marine Environment. The section is actively engaged in developing and improving the knowledge and decision-making basis in the area, through amongst other things statistics, analyses of the flow of goods, transportation models and analyses of social economics.