Nornen Class Patrol Vessels

Nornen Class patrol vessels are in service with the Norwegian Coast Guard. A fleet of five Nornen patrol vessels replaced the ageing vessels of the Inshore Coast Guard. Nornen Class vessels are named after the gods and beings of Scandinavian mythology.

The Nornen Class is designed for deployment in Norwegian coastal waters. The vessels conduct operations within 24 nautical miles of the coastal line of Norway. The primary missions of the vessels include coastal patrol, surveillance and control, fishery protection, oil recovery from spills and assistance to police and customs agencies.

The contract for five Nornen class patrol vessels was awarded in November 2004. Gryfia shipyard in Szczecin, Poland, built the vessels for Remøy Managment, a company based in Norway, between 2005 and 2007.

The Norwegian Coast Guard initially took the Nornen Class vessels on charter from Remøy Management and later acquired the vessels. Remøy Management provides civilian crew and technical support for the vessels under an agreement with the Coast Guard.

The five vessels in the class are NoCGV Nornen (W330), NoCGV Farm (W331), NoCGV Heimdal (W332), NoCGV Njord (W333) and NoCGV Tor (W334). Two Reine Class patrol vessels, which are modified variants of Nornen Class, are also operated by the Norwegian Home Guard.

Design of the Norwegian patrol vessels

Nornen Class patrol vessels are based on the ST-610 design from Skipsteknisk. The vessels are designed to deliver improved capabilities, such as seaworthiness, towing capacity, oil recovery and fire fighting. Each vessel is provided with an aft deck for accommodating a winch. The patrol vessel has an overall length of 47.2m, moulded breadth of 10.3m and design draft of 3.2m. The depth to main deck is five metres. The displacement of the vessel is 743t. The Nornen Class is manned by 20 crew members.

Nornen Class deck equipment and systems

The deck machinery of Nornen Class includes two anchor winches, two 5t capstans, tugger winch, two cranes and a towing winch with a pulling force of up to 35t. The two cranes can reach a maximum length of 9.88m and can lift a maximum load of 2.7t. The vessels are fitted with Power Management System and DP systems from Kongsberg Maritime.

The safety equipment includes a six metre Fast Rescue Craft (FRC) and a 10.5m Fast Rescue Daughter Craft (FRDC). The boats are launched and recovered by A-frame davit. The Nornen Class is also equipped with portable fire and drainage equipment, as well as fixed oil boom and recovery systems.

Cargo capacities, navigation and communication

The Nornen Class is provided with dedicated tanks for holding 117m³ of fuel oil, 94m³ of fresh water and 155m³ of recovered oil.

The vessel has an aft work deck area of 100m². The deck load strength is about 2.5t/m². The ship is also equipped with two passive anti-roll tanks and a cargo hold of 90m³.

The navigation is provided by one 3cm and one 10cm Arpa radars, two differential global positioning systems (DGPS), gyro compass, autopilot, echo sounder, electronic chart system (ECS), naval mode automatic identification system (AIS) and data recording equipment.

Onboard communication systems include satellite communication, VHF, mobile, radio equipment in accordance with Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), intercom, two MF/HF transceivers and dedicated equipment for observation room and crypto room.

Nornen Class accommodation

The accommodation for crew is provided in 12 cabins. The lower ranks of the crew are housed in double cabins, while the higher ranks are accommodated in six individual cabins. The vessel also offers two common rooms, a mess room, a hospital, a fitness room, a laundry, office room, operation centre and a crypto room.

Propulsion of Norway’s patrol vessels

The diesel-electric propulsion plant system consists of three Cummins main engines, including a 485kW KTA19DM1 engine and two 970kW KTA 38DM1 engines, as well as two Wärtsilä Azimuth propellers. The ship is also provided with Cummins 201kW engine in the port unit.

The stern thrusters of 1,100kW are fitted with two frequency controlled electric motors. The Wärtsilä tunnel thruster fitted to the bow of the vessel delivers a power of 300kW. The propulsion system provides a maximum speed of 16kt.

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