"We will get a network of national reporting systems that are adapted to a common European user and access management system. This means that we must adapt today's Norwegian ship reporting system, SafeSeaNet Norway, to the European solution that has been adopted in the EU. This will have consequences for the way shipping reports arrival and departure information to the Norwegian authorities," explains Principal Engineer Jarle Hauge at the Coastal Administration.

"We have to upgrade the current ship reporting system in any case, and with the major changes we are going to introduce as a result of new European regulations, it would be most appropriate to build a completely new system," says Hauge.

The new system will include machine-to-machine automatic reporting. This function is also included in the current Norwegian reporting system, but from August 2025 this must be adapted to the new EU standard.

A new ship reporting regime across Europe

Through the new regulations, Regulation (EU) 2019/1239, the EU will introduce a common harmonized European ship reporting regime for ship reporting in European ports. The EU's overall goal is that ships operating in traffic to and between different European countries must report only once, and the reporting is as harmonized and uniform as possible.

The new regulations must be complied with by all EU/EEA countries, including Norway. This means that SafeSeaNet Norway must be adapted to meet the EU's common standard.

The Norwegian Coastal Administration is the national coordinator for SafeSeaNet Norway, where vessels calling at and departing Norwegian ports send information about vessels, arrivals and other mandatory information to various Norwegian authorities. The system is also used to fasciliate Pilot Exemption Certificates and pilot bookings.