The Secret Norwegian Submarine Base Being Rented by the Russians

[Major Shaitan Singh]

People attend a ceremony launching the diesel-electric submarine "Rostov-on-Don" at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg, June 26, 2014. ALEXANDER DEMIANCHUK/REUTERS

An image of the inside of the base from Olavsvern's website. OLAVSVERN.NO

One of the recently arrived ships at Olavsvern is the Akademik Nemchinov, which belongs to Sevmorneftegeofizika, a Russian geophysics company that specialises in seismic measuring in deep and shallow waters. Seismic surveys are a bona fide area of international research, so seismic research vessels docking in another country is not unusual. But Sevmorneftegeofizika is not just any seismic research firm: it counts among its clients both Gazprom and a host of other firms fully or partly owned by the Kremlin. “Russian research vessels are part of the Russian government’s sea power,” explains Göran Frisk, a retired top Swedish naval commander. “The Russian marine’s most important task is making sure that the country’s nuclear submarines can move freely in the world’s oceans. The Russian research vessels are no joking matter. It’s incomprehensible that the Norwegian government could make such a gaffe.”

According to Frisk, Russian research vessels off the Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian coasts also undock mini-submarines for surveillance and warfare preparations, and investigate the seabed and hydrographic conditions. Indeed, during last year’s submarine hunt in the Stockholm archipelago, the Russian research vessel Professor Logachev mysteriously appeared, quickly departing with, what eyewitnesses reported as, an object being towed. The suspected submarine was never found. Curiously, the prime minister who saw the sale through, Jens Stoltenberg, is now Nato’s secretary-general.

According to Øyvind Korsberg, an MP for the Tromsø region, where Olavsvern is situated, the naval base was crucial for the protection of Norway’s sovereignty. “Olavsvern was of strategic importance to a robust, Norwegian and Nato defence in the north,” he argues. “It’s unfortunate that while our big neighbour is growing their military capacity in the north, we’re doing the opposite.”

Yet locals aren’t overly concerned. “We hope that the new owner will bring as many vessels as possible to Olavsvern, which will benefit the local economy,” reports mayor Jens Johan Hjort of the Tromsø municipality, which includes Ramfjord. Hjort acknowledges that it might seem like a paradox given that Olavsvern was a top-secret facility until only a few years ago, “but it’s good that the facility can be monetised”.

And in everyday life in the Tromsø area, Russian-Norwegian relations are quite harmonious, with Russians constituting the area’s largest non-Norwegian community. Nils Kristian Sørheim Nilsen, managing director of the Regional Business Association of Tromsø, shares Hjorts optimism.

“I can’t see any larger problems with these kinds of customers [such as Russian vessels], other than taking normal precautions,” he says. “Due to increased oil and gas activities in the region, also involving Russia, these kinds of visits by our neighbour are natural.”

The parties currently forming Norway’s coalition government opposed the sale of Olavsvern, and defence minister Ine Eriksen Søreide frequently warns of Russian activities in Norway’s High North. But even if the government were to conclude it wanted Olavsvern back, it’s Wilhelmsen who decides. And there’s no indication that he’s prepared to sell.

http://www.newsweek.com/2015/03/27/...rway-accidentally-handed-russians-314989.html