Tromsø says “no” to nuclear-powered submarines on municipal quays
The city of Tromsø refused the request of the United States Navy to use a municipal quay for docking nuclear reactor-powered submarines.
Since 2016, the Norwegian Armed Forces have worked to facilitate the reception of Allied nuclear-powered vessels, often called nuclear submarines, in Tromsø.
After the naval base Olavsvern was closed in 2009 and sold in 2013, Northern Norway remained without a port for receiving, among other things, American nuclear-powered submarines.
The nearest port has been Haakonsvern in Bergen.
However, in a letter signed by acting municipal director Mari Enoksen Hult, Tromsø municipality informed both the Norwegian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense, and the US Navy that they did not want nuclear-powered submarines to dock at the municipal port, according to newspaper Nordlys.
Thus, the government’s intention to use Tromsø as a port for switching crews and maintaining Allied nuclear-powered submarines, mainly American ones, has come under question.
In August, the US Navy announced that Tromsø would be visited by around four US and British nuclear-powered vessels annually.
