Norway

Norway : extension of territorial sea

The Norwegian Parliament is considering an Act that would extend the Norwegian territorial sea to 12 nautical miles (about 22 kilometres) from the current one sea mile (about four nautical miles). It is thought that the sinking of the "PRESTIGE" of the northern coast of Spain has been a factor behind the introduction of this legislation. This is coupled with the increased output from oil fields east of the Barents Sea, resulting in more tanker movements out of the Murmansk region down along the Norwegian coast to continental Europe/the United States.