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.
While I fully share concern about the North being militarized – especially about foreign ground troops being stationed in Norway, most dangerously British ground troops, overthrowing The Nordic Balance – Tromso citizens should stop and think what would happen to them if Russia controlled Norway and they tried to oppose Russian nuclear vessels (probably with far less nuclear safeguards) docking there.
I had looked upon the Russians as just being threatened by the West’s pro-war neocon governments, like Hillary&Obama’s and any British government. I have very publicly decried the neocon West’s aggressive moves threatening the Russians, like our February 2014 Kiev coup overthrowing Ukraine’s government and breaking our Budapest peace agreement with them.
However, during the NUPI Russia Conference on Thursday I learned that just late last month Russian warships had threatened our Alaska – The Deadliest Catch – fishing boats during their exercise in *our* treaty-agreed exclusionary/economic/fishing zone of the Bering Sea! … arguably an Act of War if it happens again.
(As most know, our previous excellent Ambassador to Norway Annapolis graduate Ken Braithwaite is now Secretary of the Navy.)
If Norwegian fishermen need our protection from Russian warships too, how will Tromso be helping? ??
Finally, in January 1985 New Zealand declared itself “nuclear-free” and refused to allow (U.S.) nuclear powered warships to dock there.
Our nuclear deterrence of world war is, ultimately, only a state of mind, and allied solidarity/unity is *vital* for us to have deterrent credibility, especially with the growing power and (as we see in the case of Alaska fishing boats) aggressiveness of China and Russia.
(Granted, our Cheney&Bush and Hillary&Obama stupid antagonistic anti-Russian neocon war and destabilization policies *united* Russia and China, but that’s not Trump’s fault.)
It is vital that Tromso residents understand and take their vital share of Free World defense, and so I *ask* its municipal government to reconsider its stance against U.S. Navy ships … against Allied solidarity and deterrence of world, nuclear war.
… indeed, very possibly against our/NATO’s protection of *Norwegian* fishing boats.