Compulsory pilotage will from now on be introduced in Spitsbergen’s coastal waters. First legal steps have been made on July 01. Coal freighters will from now on have to have pilots on board for the passage in to the Norwegian coal mining settlement Sveagruva. Further legal steps will follow until the law is fully in force in 2014. All ships longer than 150 metres will then have to have a pilot on board.
Captains and nautical officers with local experience on smaller passenger ships can get a so-called fairway certificate which will enable them to sail without pilot. It was feared that regulations for these certificates would make it practically impossible for even the most experienced captains to obtain such certificates, but it has been announced that improvements will be made to adjust important details to local conditions.
Ein Kreuzfahrtschiff dieser Größe ist mit einem Lotsen auf der Brücke in Spitzbergen sicher nicht schlecht beraten. Im Bild die »Grand Princess« (3100 Passagiere Kapazität) am 29. Juni 2012 vor Longyearbyen.
A little geological guidebook about the Longyearbyen area has now been published and will be officially presented on 30 June in the Svalbardmuseum in Longyearbyen. Earth history from the days of the dinosaurs through the coal age and more recent landscape-forming processes including glaciers and permafrost are briefly explained on 36 pages.
Authors are Karsten Piepjohn (Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe), Malte Jochmann (Store Norske Spitsbergen Kullkompani) and Rolf Stange (amongst others owner of this website). Christiane Hübner (Longyearbyen Feltbiologiske Forening) is the editor of the booklet, which is available in English, Norwegian and German.
All authors will be present during the official presentation, which will include a little excursion. Everybody who happens to be in Longyearbyen on June 30 is welcome. No problem if you are not there: the booklet will soon be available on this website.
The new Longyearbyen-geology-guide is available in English, Norwegian and German.