The Norwegian Merchant Fleet, 2007

749 vessels were registered in the Norwegian Ordinary Ship register (NOR) in 2007. This was eight more than in 2006, but the gross tonnage dropped by almost four per cent compared with the 2006 figure. There was a drop both in number of vessels and gross tonnage in the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS) in 2007. There were 29 fewer vessels in NIS compared with 2006, the majority of these were vessels owned by foreigners.

A new classification by type of vessel is adopted from this year. The classification makes it easier to compare between different water transport statistics, and includes more vessel type details than previous articles. In 2007, 197 general cargo vessels, 64 fish carriers/well boats and 196 car ferries were registered in the Norwegian Ship Registers. Compared to 2006, there are more tankers but fewer dry cargo vessels in NOR and NIS.

The most used home ports in the Norwegian registered Merchant Fleet in 2007 were Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Aalesund. Bergen is by far the most common, also for vessels owned by foreigners. 334 vessels have stated Bergen as their home port in 2007. Out of these, 26 per cent are NIS vessels owned from abroad.

This article also includes a table on vessels that is not included in the Norwegian Merchant Fleet. Whether a vessel is included depends both on its size and vessel type. There were 574 vessels between 25 and 100 gross tonnes in the Norwegian Ship Registers in 2007. In addition, there are 682 vessels of 100 gross tonnes or more that are not included in the general tables.

Tables:

• Table 1 Vessels registered in Norwegian ship registers. The merchant fleet. Vessels and tonnage. 1997-2007
• Table 2 Merchant fleet. Vessels in Norwegian ship registers. Number of vessels and gross tonnage, by vessel type as for 31. December 2007
• Table 3 Merchant fleet. Vessels in Norwegian ship registers. Number of vessels and gross tonnage, by vessel size as for 31. December 2007
• Table 4 Merchant fleet. Vessels in Norwegian ship registers. Number of vessels and gross tonnage, by vessel age as for 31. December 2007
• Table 5 Merchant fleet. Vessels in Norwegian ship registers. Number of vessels and gross tonnage, by home port as for 31. December 2007
• Table 6 Vessels in Norwegian ship registers not included in the merchant fleet. Number of vessels and gross tonnage, by vessel type as for 31. December 2007