Norway: in the Arctic, a military base changes ownership

The Olavsvern submarine base in Tromsoe, Norway, December 1, 2008. AFP - BJORNBAKK, JAN-MORTEN

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3 min

It is a secret naval base in the far north of Norway known as Olavsvern.

A real city carved out of the mountain from which NATO submarines patrolled during the Cold War.

In the 2010s, however, it was sold to a private company.

It even hosted Russian research vessels for a time before being bought out and having regained its military vocation earlier this month.

A story straight out of a James Bond script.

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With our correspondent in Stockholm, 

Frédéric Faux

From the outside, Olavsvern's naval base looks like any deep-water port with its quay, its hangars, but its real secret is in the mountains, at the end of a 900-meter tunnel.

We then arrive in a real underground city with its munitions warehouses, workshops, its own power station, and above all a dry dock capable of accommodating six submarines at the same time.

For Vidar Hole, whose company has just taken control of Olavsvern for the Norwegian army, it's a unique place: “

 The impression we have the first time is the same for everyone: it's that of finding yourself in a James Bond from the sixties. 

"

This base, which was a strategic center for NATO in its war against Russian submarines, has nevertheless known many vicissitudes.

After the end of the Cold War, it was sold over the internet to private investors.

In 2015, the Norwegian press even revealed that Russian science boats had spent the winter there.

Since Vladimir Putin's interventionism is increasingly worrying NATO and its allies, Norway has therefore decided to take control of Olavsvern.

Since the beginning of January, Dutch commandos have been carrying out their winter maneuvers there.

US nuclear submarines could also soon dock in the nearby city of Tromso, despite opposition from part of the population.

There is only one certainty, however, that a senior Norwegian officer told us: “ 

The Russians in Olavsvern, it's over.

 "

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