The sector fees, which consist of pilot fees and safety fees, are used for operations and investments in pilot services and maritime traffic control services in Southern Norway. Users finance the largest portion of the costs.
Year 2024
The pilot service carried out 38,200 pilot assignments, managed 80,900 voyages with navigational certificates, and granted 1,500 exemptions from pilotage duty in 2024. The maritime traffic control centers granted clearance for 430,000 voyages in 2024.
Changes from February 1
Pilot fees will increase by an average of 6.9% starting February 1, 2025. This change is 1.6 percentage points lower than the proposal that was subject to consultation last fall. The primary reason for the pilot fee increase being higher than the expected wage and price growth of 3.8% in 2025 is higher cost growth and additional pension costs for pilots in 2023. Additionally, revenues in 2024 were lower than expected. The increase in pilot fees above the expected wage and price growth will be used to repay deficits from 2023 and 2024. The Norwegian Coastal Administration and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries are working on various measures to reduce costs in the pilot service and the fee burden on shipping.
As before
Safety fees will remain unchanged from 2024 to 2025. The government will continue funding the exemption from the pilot preparedness fee for vessels up to 8,000 gross tons (GT). The funding for this is 96 million NOK in 2025. Discounts in the pilot preparedness fee and safety fees for vessels with a high score on the Environmental Ship Index (ESI) will also continue into 2025.
Two or more pilots on the same voyage
A change in the pilotage fee for vessels with multiple pilots onboard was proposed in the consultation on sector fees for 2025. The Norwegian Coastal Administration’s proposal was that all vessels with multiple pilots onboard, working alternately, should pay for each hour a pilot was on board. The goal was to perform more pilot assignments with a single pilot onboard, freeing up pilots for other assignments. Based on several comments during the consultation, the proposed change has been limited to vessels that request two pilots onboard for increased flexibility. The number of vessels with two pilots, who will be charged for additional hours, will now be less than the originally proposed change in the consultation draft. The wording in the pilot fee regulation has been adjusted to reflect this.
Annual Fees
Annual fees for pilot preparedness fees and safety fees (Oslofjord and Rogaland) are ordered through the national messaging system SafeSeaNet Norway and billed quarterly. Vessels that have previously received an invoice for the annual pilot preparedness fee for the first quarter of 2025 will receive a new invoice reflecting the lower fee rates set.
Fee Calculator
The fee calculator on kystverket.no will show the current fee rates and, starting from February 1, 2025, will calculate fees using the new rates.
Read more about the Norwegian Coastal Administration’s sector fees.