Olavsvern
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olavsvern | |
|---|---|
| Tromsø, Troms, Norway | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Former military base |
| Owner | Olavsvern Group |
| Location | |
  Olavsvern Location of Olavsvern  Olavsvern Olavsvern (Norway) | |
| Coordinates | 69°31′51″N 19°00′45″E / 69.5309°N 19.0125°E |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1967 |
| In use | 1967–2009 2021—present |
Olavsvern (lit. 'Olav's protection/defense') is a decommissioned underground submarine base formerly used by the Royal Norwegian Navy located just outside the city of Tromsø.[1] It is located along the European route E8 at the entrance to the Ramfjorden from the Balsfjorden.
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During the Cold War, Norway wanted a secret naval base within the Arctic Circle.[2] The base was essentially carved into a mountain just outside the city of Tromsø. It is a massive complex constructed at a cost of 4 billion Kroner burrowed into a mountain. It lost its status as an Orlogsstasjon (navy base) in 2002 and was consequently closed down in 2009 by the government of prime minister Jens Stoltenberg.[3]
Infrastructure
The base has an inside surface of 25,000 square metres (270,000 sq ft) beneath 274 metres (899 ft) of hard rock, including 13,000 square metres (140,000 sq ft) of housing, and 3,000 square metres (32,000 sq ft) of deep-water dock.[4] In one of the mountain halls, there is a dry dock for submarines. The internal dry dock is capable of accommodating 6 submarines simultaneously.
The base further consists of a 340-metre-long (1,120 ft) dry dock, workshops, offices and ammunition depots. The base also has external docks capable of accommodating larger ships, among other US Navy SSN's and SSBN's.
The entrance to the facilities consist of a tunnel that is more than 900 metres (3,000 ft) long.
Accidents
In 2005, an accident in a scuba exercise inside the base led to the death of SBS commander Lieutenant Colonel Richard van der Horst.[5] The accident involved a swimmer delivery vehicle during an amphibious exercise.[6]
In March 2022, James May suffered a broken rib when he crashed a Mitsubishi Evo in one of the tunnels during a competition between the show's presenters to see who could drive (and stop) the fastest while filming for a special episode of The Grand Tour, and was taken to the hospital.[7][8]
Decommissioning
The base was closed down in 2009 and put up for sale by the Norwegian government for NOK 105 million (US$17.5 million) in 2011 and later sold for NOK 38 million to Olavsvern Group Ltd, a company that announced its purpose to use the base as a maintenance base for oil platform rigs and drilling equipment. NATO approved the sale.[9][10]
