I Know of a Lot of Other Things That Ought to Be Blasted Before We Build a Ship Tunnel

This takes place while the capacity of two of the most important transport routes in the event of war, the Ofoten Line and the European route 6 through Nordland, Northern Norway, is completely overrun.

I am looking for signs

I am following the Norwegian parliament's budget discussions from a distance. Looking for a joint political effort for what is still called Norway's most important strategic area, Northern Norway.

Looking for signs that the parliament is grasping that the world has become a more dangerous place since the national budget, now to be revised, was adopted in December last year.

But I am looking in vain. 

Neither the government's supporting parties nor the opposition is in lack of money. What they lack is the courage to spend them where it matters most for the nation's security.

One of the supporting parties, the Center Party, which recently pushed through state subsidized fuel of NOK 6 billion, insists at this crossroad that what Norway needs most right now is a tunnel in Stadlandet in Western Norway. Of the price of NOK 10 billion.

Why ships, which are more robust and have better navigation systems than ever, should no longer be able to tolerate sailing outdoors along the west coast is completely impossible to understand.

Air raid shelters

I know of heaps of other mountains that should be blasted before moving cruise ships and other things indoors.

We could start by blasting some new shelters.

A drone alert was what made Finnish and Latvian authorities send their residents toward shelters less than 24 hours ago. Finland has built shelters for 85 percent of its population. Most of them are upgraded and fully functional by today's standards.

Also read:

Plans of Seamless Railway Connections from Northern Finland to Northern Norway

In Norway, we have not built shelters since 1998. On the contrary, we have demolished shelters for thousands of people without building new ones in recent years. Coverage in Norway is 45 percent. We cannot room more than that. Of these, only a handful are operational.

The Ofoten Line

If anyone wants to blast more mountains, we can continue along the Ofoten Line, or the Iron Ore Line, between Narvik and Kiruna in the Norwegian and Swedish Arctic.

The capacity has long since been exhausted in this stretch, which Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish authorities believe to be crucial in the event of war.

It has to do with the transport of iron ore that is crucial to the weapons industry, of which Swedish mining company LKAB is by far the largest supplier of ore to Europe, but also the transport of military personnel, weapons and food.

To mention a few. 

Finland, which has barely any money, is planning a major railway expansion for the same reason: to tie the Nordic countries together in the North. So far, these plans will have an abrupt halt on the Norwegian side.

European Route 6

If there should still be any explosive force left in the budget, literally speaking, there are many mountains to choose from along the European Route 6 bottleneck. Only half of it has been approved for upgrading. The route is repeatedly closed due to accidents or climatic conditions. Unlike shipping traffic, road transport in Northern Norway depends on tunnels.

If the E6 and the Ore Line collapse at the same time in a critical situation, then … no, I cannot bear to think about it.

I cannot bear to, because over the next few days, the Norwegian parliament will fight fiercely over whether to move the shipping fleet indoors rather than sail the open sea as it always has.

Most Norwegians, apart from those who have the most, pay their tax with pleasure.

The parliament should be careful of depriving us of that pleasure.