Norwegian Maritime Directorate is a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 government agency responsible for life

Life

Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...

, health

Health

Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...

, vessel

Blood vessel

The blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transports blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the arteries, which carry the blood away from the heart; the capillaries, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and...

 and the environment

Natural environment

The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....

 for Norwegian registered ship

Ship

Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...

s and ships at Norwegian port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

s. The directorate

Directorate

A directorate is an agency usually headed by a director, often a subdivision of a major government department.* Immigration and Nationality Directorate* Dairat al-Mukhabarat al-Ammah * Veterinary Medicines Directorate...

, subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry

Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry is a Norwegian ministry responsible for business, trade and industry. It is led by Trond Giske . The department must report to the legislature, Storting.-History:The Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Shipping, Industry, Craft and Fisheries was created...

, is located in Haugesund

Haugesund

is a town and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.-Location:Haugesund was separated from Torvastad as a town and municipality of its own in 1855. The rural municipality of Skåre was merged with Haugesund on January 1, 1958. Haugesund is a small municipality, only 73 km²...

 and led by Director General of Shipping and Navigation Olav Akselsen

Olav Akselsen

Olav Akselsen is Director General of Shipping and Navigation. Akselsen has served six terms in the Norwegian Parliament for the Norwegian Labour Party, and was Minister of Petroleum and Energy in the first cabinet Stoltenberg from 2000 to 2001.-1989 to 2001:Akselsen was first elected to the...

.

The main job for the directorate is to ensure that Norwegian ships and shipping companies meet high safety- and environmental standards, to ensure that Norwegian seamen

Seaman

Seaman is one of the lowest ranks in a Navy. In the Commonwealth it is the lowest rank in the Navy, followed by Able Seaman and Leading Seaman, and followed by the Petty Officer ranks....

 have high qualifications and good working- and living conditions, and to ensure that foreign ships in Norwegian territory and ports meet international rules. The directorate also assists the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority in matters concerning petroleum activities and also has responsibilities concerning small boats.

In matters concerning environmental quality

Environmental quality

Environmental quality is a set of properties and characteristics of the environment, either generalized or local, as they impinge on human beings and other organisms...

, the directorate is subordinate the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment

Norwegian Ministry of the Environment

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of the Environment is a Norwegian ministry established in 1972. The ministry is responsible for environmental issues in Norway. It is led by the Minister of the Environment, Erik Solheim...

. In police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

- and prosecution concerns it is subordinate of the Norwegian Director of Public Prosecutions.

Directors

Rune Teisland left the director post in 2008. In August the same year, Olav Akselsen

Olav Akselsen

Olav Akselsen is Director General of Shipping and Navigation. Akselsen has served six terms in the Norwegian Parliament for the Norwegian Labour Party, and was Minister of Petroleum and Energy in the first cabinet Stoltenberg from 2000 to 2001.-1989 to 2001:Akselsen was first elected to the...

, a parliament member at the time, was appointed new Director General. Akselsen did not take up the post until January 2010, and in the meantime Sigurd Gude served as acting director.