Foreign shipping company fined NOK 100,000
A foreign shipping company has been fined NOK 100,000 for failing to notify the Governor of planned tours within the deadline, as well as a fine for violating the traffic ban in the Bjørnøya nature reserve. The fine has been approved.
The foreign shipping company has been fined for two matters:
In the period between 10 and 15 June 2023, the shipping company's employees carried out a trip with a vessel in Svalbard before the trip report had been processed by the Governor. This is a violation of the Regulation on tourism in Svalbard §8, second paragraph, which states that the tour operator must notify the Governor of planned trip programs no later than eight weeks before the program starts.
The second matter is a breach of Regulations on the Bjørnøya nature reserve §9, for having violated the provision that in and near the large bird colonies, all forms of travel on land and water are prohibited in the period from and including 1 April to 31. August. On 15 June 2023, the shipping company's vessel sailed twice in traffic prohibition zone A at Bjørnøya.
For the violations, the shipping company was fined NOK 100,000 by the Governor of Svalbard. The shipping company has accepted the fine.