Sea transport and ports. – From the end of the century. XIX to the present day the Norwegian navy has made great progress; its percentage in world shipping increased from 3% in 1896 to 6.1% on June 30, 1933. It was almost the only one that has honored sailing for the longest time; up to 1890, in fact – despite the ever more rapid advent of steam in the world -, of the 7432 units that made up the ship, 6740 were still sailing ships; the gross tonnage of these was however reduced to 685 thousand tons in 1910 and to 1407 tons. only on June 30, 1933. Meanwhile, mechanically propelled ships increased: from 810 thousand tons existing in 1900 to 2,323,000 gross tons of steamers and 1,754,000 of motor ships. The Norwegian navy, therefore, with its total of 4.078.000 tons, today occupies the fourth place among the world navies,

According to ebizdir, notable features of this ship are: a) the youth: 1,150,000 tons. gross are less than 5 years old (on a world complex, of the same age, of 8,693,000 gross tons); b) the high percentage of motor ships, which make up 43% of the entire Norwegian navy, while the percentage of world motor ships out of all existing ships in the world is only 15%; c) the high proportion of tankers: 1,508,000 tons, or 37% of the national shipping, while the percentage of tankers in the world as a whole is 12.89%. Oil tankers have had a great development dating back to 1926, when, with 344,000 tons, they represented only 12% of the Norwegian shipping; they sail in the service of the great oil companies of the world.

Keeping in mind the impervious physiognomy of most of the national territory, a physiognomy that hinders land transport, the long and jagged coastline, the little cultivable extension, it is well understood how important the sea has in the economy of the country. The Norwegian Shipowners’ Association has calculated that, in 1929, the Norwegian navy counted at about 1150 tons. gross for every thousand residents; of which 800 tons of steamboats (the figure, for England, is only 375 tons) and 350 of motor ships (for Denmark, where motorized ships have reached the maximum development, 100 tons). 2.5% of the population works as a seafarer, while 17% (including fishing) lives from maritime activities on land and on board. This any other participation of the residents in maritime enterprises could not be justified, however, with only the traffic linked to national imports and exports. And, in fact, the Norwegian armament does not have the sole purpose of maintaining communications in the country, but also of intervening in trade between foreign countries. A large share of the navy therefore navigates in indirect traffic, both in the form of regular lines, and, and more, like tramps, rarely touching the homeland shores. In this regard it should be remembered that, while in 1913 the regular services of the Norwegian armament employed 19.3% of the national shipping, this share rose to 32.1% in 1929. Now, in 1913, 0.3% of the fleet Norwegian (4588 tons) maintained regular lines between foreign ports, on behalf of Norwegian shipowners; in 1929 the aforementioned proportion had increased eighty times: 11.8% (tonnes 372.158), which denotes considerable vitality and expansive strength. Add to that the regular services between foreign ports on behalf of foreign shipowners (2%; gross tons 62,234).

Favorite rentals are time-charter, as the importance of this type of contract has been decreasing with effect from 1913. The armament revenue generally decreased with effect from 1929: 377 ¹ / ₂ million just in 1932.

A state fleet experiment took place in Norway from 1827 to 1860; then came the system of subsidies for which, in the 1931-32 budget, 6,206,000 crowns were allocated for 17 cabotage lines and 16 lake (all these lines absorb 95% of the expenditure; these are essential lines) and for those (5% of expenditure) Bergen-Newcastle, for Spain, Denmark and Italy. In 1928 a state fund was established for armament loans (crowns 6,700,000) which was to cease in 1933; in 1928 a bank for maritime mortgage loans was also created.

Cabotage is not reserved for the flag as a principle. Construction fees are paid to construction sites in the form of reimbursement of fees paid for the import of foreign materials.

Finally, it should be added that a very active section of the Norwegian navy is that used for whale hunting (more than 100 fishing vessels and 24 floating farms). In 1929, 1,210,235 barrels of oil were produced (out of 1,882,000 worldwide), for a value of 108 million crowns.

The most important trading ports are Oslo, Bergen, Tansberg, Haugesund, Sandefjord. In 1930 the gross amount of freight rates was 411.1 million crowns. Maritime trade employs 35,300 people.

Tourist traffic. – Date from the middle of the century. XIX and is on the rise promoted by several organizations. In 1929, Norway was visited by 54-55 thousand tourists, of which however 50% remained almost always aboard large cruise ships.

Roads and railways. – The lines of communication generally follow the valleys. The construction of roads and railways was made extremely difficult by the mountainous and uninhabited regions. In 1931 the total length of public roads was 38,002 km., That of railways was 3,835 km. with an average of km. 1.36 for every 1000 residents Car roads reached a total length of 28,831 km in 1929. In 1931, 46,473 cars were registered in circulation. The railway network is not very branched: the main sections are the Dovrebanen (between Oslo and Trondheim), the Raumabanen (between Oslo and Åndalsnes), the Bergensbanen (between Oslo and Bergen). The latter constitutes one of the greatest technical achievements of its kind in Europe: over a total length of 492 km. the line reaches the maximum height of 1301 m.; a stretch of 200 km. it is traveled through wild mountains and the total length of the 178 tunnels is 36.9 km. Two other sections are under construction: one from Trondheim to Narvik, the other from Oslo to Stavanger. The border with Sweden is crossed by four railway lines. In practice, all traffic in the west and north takes place by sea, because the fjord system makes road construction very expensive. Even the two main cities, Oslo and Bergen, are not connected by an uninterrupted highway. because the fjord system makes road construction very expensive. Even the two main cities, Oslo and Bergen, are not connected by an uninterrupted highway. because the fjord system makes road construction very expensive. Even the two main cities, Oslo and Bergen, are not connected by an uninterrupted highway.

Civil aviation, telegraphs and telephones. – All aviation in Norway is under the control of the Ministry of Defense; civil aviation reports directly to the Air Traffic Council of that ministry. There is an Aero Club in Norway affiliated with the International Aviation Federation. The most important air navigation company is Norske Luftruter AS, Oslo, which represents Deutsche Luft Hansa for the management of the air service from Oslo to Berlin, via Copenhagen, inaugurated in 1927 and operating in the summer months (Dornier Wal seaplanes). Other companies are: Nord Norges Aero (Narvik), W. Omsted (Oslo), Norsk Lufttransport (Oslo), Rundflyning (Drammen). In Norway there are customs airports in Kjeller (military, 20 km NE of Oslo, with hangar and repair shop) and Vernes (20 km E. of Trondheim); a customs and military seaplane base in Horten (2 km Norway of the station, with hangar and repair shop); a civil seaplane base in Gressholmen (Oslo).

Ice-free waterways in sheltered waters are used throughout the year. The journey from Trondheim to Vadsø takes five days. Regular shipping lines connect Oslo with Hamburg, Newcastle and New York. A complete network of telegraph and telephone lines (35,712 km in all) unites all the centers of Norway. In 1931 there were 14.1 million long-distance telephone calls and 4.1 million telegrams. 112 million letters and 154.4 million newspapers and periodicals were sent to 4,388 post offices. There are 12 radio stations.