OSLO, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Owners of ships serving the oil industry will be exempt from paying license fees for 2016 on vessels that have been mothballed, Norway’s industry minister said in a statement on Tuesday.
The price of crude oil has plunged 70 percent since mid-2014, leading to cutbacks in oil industry investments and lower demand for supply ships, anchor handlers and construction vessels.
The fee per ship registered in Norway is about 35,000 Norwegian crowns ($4,000) per year, and the industry’s overall savings are expected to amount to around 2.3 million crowns for the year, Industry Minister Monica Maeland said.
($1 = 8.7037 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Stine Jacobsen)
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