Captain sentenced for violation of traffic ban
A captain of a foreign sailing boat has been convicted in Nord-Troms and Senja District Court for violating the traffic ban in the Bjørnøya nature reserve. The penalty is a fine of NOK 24,000. In addition, the captain is ordered to pay NOK 3,000 in court costs.
This content is more than one year old. The information may therefore be out of date.
It was in June this year that the sailboat entered the no-traffic zone at the southern end of Bjørnøya. This was observed by the Coast Guard who reported to the Governor of Svalbard.
On 1 July 2022, the Governor presented the captain with a fine of NOK 20,000, which was not accepted. The case was then brought before Nord-Troms and Senja district court, which has now fined the captain NOK 24,000 as well as legal costs.