Cruise traffic in Norwegian waters and adjacent sea areas

This link is a translation of an excerpt from Official Norwegian Report, NOU 2022: 1 "Cruise traffic in Norwegian waters and adjacent sea areas - Maritime safety, emergency preparedness and rescue ". The translated excerpts are Chapter 1 Summary, Chapter 7 The challenge picture and Chapter 14 Overall assessment of the recommendations. NOU 2022: 1 was prepared by a Government-appointed committee (the Cruise Committee), which submitted its report to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security on 23 February 2022. The incident with Viking Sky in Hustadvika off the west coast of Norway on 23 March 2019 was a near-miss. The incident ended well, but could have become a disaster if the ship had run aground. This was a major reason for the appointment of the Cruise Committee. While the probability of a serious incident involving cruise ships in Norway is fortunately not high, the consequences can be enormous if an accident does take place. It is the committee’s conclusion that it is impossible to dimension an emergency preparedness and response system that takes into account a worst-case incident involving a cruise ship. A serious accident with a large cruise ship will result in many injuries and deaths. The overall risk of cruise traffic must therefore be reduced. The committee sheds light on the challenges and recommends a number of measures to reduce this risk. The committee points out that priorities for the recommendations will largely depend on political assessments, where a holistic approach to the cruise industry will be key. It is therefore the committee’s goal that the report shall provide a good basis for political discussions, and further expert assessments and decisions.