Norwegian International Ship Register or NIS is a separate

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

ship register The flag state of a merchant vessel is the jurisdiction under whose laws the vessel is registered or licensed, and is deemed the nationality of the vessel. A merchant vessel must be registered and can only be registered in one jurisdiction, but ma ...

for Norwegian vessels aimed at competing with

flags of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag state ...

registers such as

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

and

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

. Originally proposed by

Erling Dekke Næss Erling Dekke Næss (5 September 1901 – 7 February 1993) was a Norwegian shipowner and businessman. Brother of philosopher Arne Dekke Næss, his nephew was the mountaineer and businessman Arne Næss Jr. Best known for his early adoption of fla ...

in 1984, it was established in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

in 1987 and is managed by the

Norwegian Ship Registers The Norwegian Ship Registers, sometimes called NIS-NOR ( no, Skipsregistrene) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for operating the Norwegian International Ship Register, the Norwegian Ship Register and the Norwegian Shipbuilding Register ...

. In 2010, it was the 12th ship register by gross tonnage, representing 1% of the global tonnage.

Objectives

In the years before the register was established, the Norwegian register lost out as it could not compete with lower-cost registers. The main objectives of establishing the register were: *Maintain the shipping industry under the

Norwegian flag The national flag of Norway ( nb, Norges flagg; nn, Noregs flagg; ) is red with a navy blue Scandinavian cross fimbriated in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style ...

. *Provide better competitive conditions for the Norwegian merchant fleet in worldwide trade. *Initiate registration requirements in accordance with Norway's obligations under international agreements, (especially

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(UN),

International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...

(IMO) and

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

(ILO)). *Maintain a Norwegian fleet that could give greater employment opportunities to Norwegian seaman than a foreign-flagged fleet. *Restrict the types of vessel that may be registered. *Limit the trading areas allowed. NIS vessels cannot trade cargo between Norwegian ports or carry passengers on a regular basis to or from Norwegian ports. The register has been highly successful and in 2002 there were 880 vessels in the register with a total of around ().

Criticism

There has been some criticism of countries that have opened second registers, such as Norway (NIS),

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(GIS) and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

(DIS), because there are fewer restrictions on the nationality of the crew and allegedly lower safety standards than the main national register.Flags of Convenience
/ref>

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website for both NIS and NOR registers
Water transport in Norway Ship registration 1987 establishments in Norway Government agencies established in 1987 1987 in transport Organisations based in Bergen Transport in Bergen

Objectives

Criticism

See also

References

External links