Our Government wishes to stimulate maritime research and development in the coming years and we have a dialogue going with both the research institutes and the industry on how to organise the future activities. It is vital for us to discuss the future challenges and possibilities with the industry itself. I have therefore established a maritime working group and several sub-groups, which I personally consult with. The members of this group represent a broad spectre of the maritime industries, and discussions focus how the maritime industry as a whole should be maintained in Norway. One topic, which the industry often takes up, is support measures.
Shipping is now more or less tax-free internationally.
Given the very strong competition from open registers, it does not appear possible to roll back support measures in the short term. In an environment of world-wide competition, our goal is to make shipping companies established in Norway more competitive, which depends not only on competitive conditions for manning and registering vessels but also on a favourable environment for shipping companies. I believe new market opportunities for the shipping industry will arise, partly because of the need for quality ships which are safe and environmental friendly. We must pay attention so that people of the industry who have been working hard to achieve high quality management do not lose their market shares because of high costs. Together with the industry I will review whether it is necessary to study more carefully the future challenges we face and the possibilities we may create and establish.