Employment at sea, mariners

Employees at sea/ employment of mariners

By employees at sea, we mean Norwegian and foreign persons working on vessels or moveable oil platforms registered in the Norwegian Shipping Register (NOR) or the Norwegian International Register (NIS).  Norwegian and foreign persons working on foreign registered vessels and moveable installations are also covered if the employer is responsible for paying employer’s contributions for the person concerned. 

The reporting of employees at sea must be submitted no later than the Friday following:

*Employment (employer starts paying signed-on employee)

*Boarding the vessel (the employee travels from home to take up employment)

*Leaving the vessel (the employee physically leaves the vessel)

*Ceases employment (under contract).

Employment and boarding will normally be reported in the same notification. Similarly, final departure and termination will normally be reported in the same notification.

No notification is to be submitted when an employee goes ashore on holiday, for leisure or takes time off in lieu of pay, when he/she will be returning to the same vessel.

Duty of reporting also covers spouses who work in the other spouse’s private enterprise when employment applies to service onboard ship.

Notifications for employees at sea must also be sent when they change appointment, transfer to another vessel, and whenever the vessel changes its regular area of operation or registration.

It is not necessary to report a change from one vessel to another if the vessel to which the service relates is in domestic passenger trade. Moreover, employers can search the NAV EE Register for permission to make a simplified registration. This means that it is only necessary to submit a notification when changing to another vessel if the new vessel is registered in another register (only when changing between NOR, NIS or a foreign register) or is in another trade (only when changing between domestic trade, foreign trade or petroleum drilling).

For more information about the rules and conditions, see the Regulations to the National Insurance Act, § 25-1.