Norway is introducing an annual fee for leisure boats

From 1 January, all owners of leisure boats in Norway have to pay an annual fee of NOK 200. 

The change also applies to commercial vessels up from and including seven meters of lenght that do not pay an annual fee for certification and vessel instructions.

According to the Norwegian Maritime Directorate, many do not report changes such as a change of ownership to the Norwegian Ship Register (NOR). 

The fee is introduced in order to have a more updated register.

“We see that many do not fulfill their duty to notify us when vessels, for example, are sold.

“That leads to errors in registered information and is unfortunate for both the new and previous owner of the vessel,” department director Elisabeth Hvaal Lingaas at the Norwegian Maritime Directorate’s department for the Ship Register.

An up-to-date register is also important for the authorities to be able to track abandoned leisure boats.

“This can lead to high extra costs for third parties, such as municipalities and private individuals. Owners of a quay or jetty then have to take on the job of removing abandoned boats, even if they are not the owner of the vessels,” Hvaal Lingaas said.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today