Svalbard Islands (Arctic Norway)

Svalbard (formerly Spitsbergen) is a Norwegian archipelago (island group) in the Arctic Ocean. Svalbard is located north of mainland Europe, about midway between North Pole and mainland Norway. Svalbard has land area approx 61000 km2 (23560 ml2) and is dominated by Spitsbergen Island (over half of archipelago's land), followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeoya. All settlements are on Spitsbergen, except two meteo outposts on Bjornoya and Hopen. Archipelago's total population is around 3,000 (including 439 Russians and Ukrainian, 10 Polish, 322 other non-Norwegians). Longyearbyen is Svalbard's administrative center and largest settlement.

Administratively, Svalbard is not a part of any Norwegian county. However, it forms an unincorporated region administered by a Governor appointed by Norway's Government. Since 2002, Svalbard's main settlement (Longyearbyen) has a local government, similarly to mainland municipalities. Svalbard is the world's northernmost settlement with permanent civilian population. Other settlements located farther north are populated only by groups of rotating scientists/researchers. Next map of Svalbard Islands shows all cruise ports/destinations in the archipelago.

The archipelago has Arctic climate, though with higher temperatures than other regions at the same latitude. Its flora take advantage of the midnight sun to compensate for polar nights. Svalbard is the breeding ground for plenty of seabirds, and also features reindeer, Arctic fox, polar bears, and certain marine mammals. 23 nature reserves and 7 national parks cover 2/3 of the archipelago, protecting the untouched, natural environment. Nearly 60% of Svalbard archipelago is covered with glaciers. The islands feature many fjords and mountains. No roads connect Svalbard's settlements. Snowmobiles, boats and aircraft serve inter-community transport. Longyear, Svalbard Airport, serves as archipelago's main gateway.

Jan Mayen Island and Svalbard are assigned ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code SJ. These areas are administered by Norway, even though they are separated by over 500 nautical miles distance (600 ml / 950 km) and have different administrative structures.

Cruising season runs late-April through late-September. For season 2019, Svalbard was visited by cruise ships ~300 times, with nearly 20,000 tourists. Most vessels are smaller-sized expedition ships, among which MS Expedition (G-Adventures), MS Fram, MS Spitsbergen and MS Fridtjof Nansen (Hurtigruten), L'Austral and Le Boreal (Ponant), Scenic Eclipse (Scenic), Hanseatic Nature (Hapag-Lloyd), Silver Cloud and Silver Explorer (Silversea). Season's largest liner was MSC Preziosa (at Longyearbyen on June 23, port stay 8 am-10pm). For Longyearbyen is planned the construction of a new floating pier.

Effective January 1, 2020, NMA (Norwegian Maritime Authority) has new rules for passenger shipping in Svalbard. The regulations require all vessels to comply with IMO's Polar Code - January 2017-enforced International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters, which is mandatory under both SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) and MARPOL (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) maritime conventions. NMA's new rules apply to both Norway- and foreign-flagged vessels navigating in Svalbard's waters. Ships without SOLAS-issued "Passenger Ship Safety Certificate" were granted with a 5-year period for the shipowner companies to schedule drydock refits for necessary vessel conversions and machinery modifications.

Statistics show that Svalbard Islands are visited by more and more cruise passengers. In 2008, 28 cruise liners brought nearly 29,000 tourists. In 2018, 15 liners brought nearly 46,000 tourists. Smaller-sized expedition ships in 2008 were 24 (with ~10,000 tourists) and in 2018 - 59 (with 21,000 tourists).