SAR Tromsø - The Barents Observer

 Helikopter Service AS, (HS) senere CHC, etablerte den første sivile redningstejeneste i Norge i 1970 med S-61N. De leverte tjenesten til 1973 da 330 skv. gjenoppsto med  Sea King helikoptre. Gjennom årene har HS levert redningstjeneste det står respekt av, ikke minst da HS`datterselskapå Helicsa etablerte den sivile redningstjenesten i 1991 i Spania. De i hovedsak norske bestningene gjorde en fremragende innsats i Biacaya. (Red)

A SAR-helicopter operated by the Governor of Svalbard during an exercise in Billefjorden. Photo: Thomas Nilsen

Norway's new Arctic SAR-base in Tromsø will have helicopters in joint operation with Svalbard

Search- and Rescue (SAR) capacities in the European Arctic will be strengthened as the Norwegian Government on Friday announced Tromsø as location for a new civilian operated helicopter base.

By

Thomas Nilsen

5

February 12, 2021

Cruise traffic, fishing, petroleum and military activity are all on increase in Norway’s Arctic waters. With long distances, cold climate and polar darkness, the need to strengthen SAR capabilities is long overdue.

A joint supplier and jointly operated base for the [new] helicopters in Tromsø and the [existing] helicopter service for the Governor of Svalbard will give financial and quality benefits, the Government said in its proposal to the Parliament.

To be launched next year, the rescue helicopter base in Tromsø will be the first operated by a private company. Norway’s existing SAR-helicopters in the north, based in Lakselv and Bodø, are part of the Air Force.

“The base in Troms will provide for a substantially strengthened helicopter capacity in the north,” said Monica Mæland, Minister of Justice and Public Security.

The Governor of Svalbard has two helicopters based at the airport in Longyearbyen.

Costs for joint operations of helicopters in Tromsø and Longyearbyen is estimated at 1,86 billion kroner (€181 million) for the period 2022 to 2028.