Arctic submarine base reopens to help US

A Cold War-era nuclear sub base in Norway is to be reopened as the US and Russia wrestle for control of the Arctic Ocean.

USS Jimmy Carter is the third and final Seawolf-class, nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine in the US Navy

A secret Cold War-era nuclear submarine base in Norway is to be reopened as America and Russia wrestle for control of the Arctic Ocean.

Olavsvern, which was closed in 2002, is a colossal complex carved into a mountain near the northern city of Tromso.

It includes 3000m of deep water underground docks that can house and refit nuclear submarines.

According to NRK, Norway’s national broadcaster, the base will be open to the US navy’s three Seawolf submarines.

“An agreement on the return of Olavsvern to the armed forces may be ready as early as (this) week, as a result of pressure from the US navy,” NRK reported at the weekend.

Russia has built up its northern fleet and NATO has become wary of Russian submarine activity in the Barents Sea and the North Atlantic.

Senior American officers have been seen at Olavsvern in recent weeks and last Friday the Norwegian Defence Ministry approved an agreement that will allow the country’s armed forces and US military, as NATO allies, to use the base, which is 350km from the Russian border. It was shut during a thaw in relations with Russia and in 2015 was leased to seismic research vessels for Gazprom and other state companies.

In February Moscow accused Oslo of continuing to “escalate tension and increase the risk of military action” by allowing American nuclear submarines to use Norwegian ports.

The US navy has been using an open harbour at Malangen, south of Tromso, to resupply their Seawolf submarines. Modifications to the Tromso naval base, which has 434,000sq m of housing and dockyards sheltered under 270m of hard rock, include a secure berthing area for USS Jimmy Carter, the largest nuclear attack submarine.

The Times