Norwegian ports rebell aginst new ISPS fee

A growing number of Norwegian ports rebel against the new ISPS (International Ship and Port Facility Security Code) fee of NOK 25,000 per ISPS terminal. In the 2007 budget the government decided that the Norwegian Coastal Administration’s (Kystverket) accrued cost of administering the ISPS in Norway should be borne by the ports themselves. The port are saying the extra cost will be leveled directly on the port users. Norwegian ports have been forced to invest around NOK 100 millions in ISPS fencing, cameras and guards and all of this is paid by the ports and the port users. The Oslo port director Anne Sigrid Hamran are among the rebels.