Marjata IV

Today's vessels had reached its expected technical lifetime. The question has been whether one would operate today's ships, or building a new one. The Storting approved in 2010 to build a completely new vessel. Head of NIS Lieutenant General Kjell Grandhagen told Jane’s Navy International that the price of the new vessel will amount to NOK 1.2 billion (€148 million). The budget allocation to the Intelligence service has increased with 35 percent from 2005 till today, from NOK 690 million (€86 million) to NOK 930 million (€116 million).

In March 2014 the hull of the new Norwegian Intelligence vessel was towed through the Bosporus from the shipyard in Romania towards Vard Lansten shipyard in Norway. The "godmother" of the new intelligence ship (BRD) Marjata became Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who personally broke a bottle of champagne against the side of hull at the shipyard Langsten VARD group Tomreforde.

The new FS Marjata IV military intelligence collection ship is a new addition to the Norwegian Navy and will join NATO reconnaissance missions in the Barents and Norwegian Seas this spring, the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported. The new FS Marjata IV is one of the two ships which Norway and NATO will send into the high Arctic seas in an attempt to find lurking Russian submarines which have been terrifying the imagination of Scandinavians for the past couple of years.

Norway’s next generation spy ship, the Marjata IV, entering service in 2016, is a giant compared to the MK3. The ship will mainly patrol and gather intelligence in the North and the Arctic and particularly directed towards Russian activity. The most obvious is the hull shape. While the old "Marjata" has a so-called Ramform, almost like an iron, is the new "Marjata" is both longer and slimmer than its predecessor. The transition to conventional hulls provide increased fuel savings, increased speed and better sea properties. Obvious benefits must also be seen in the context of the potential for a larger area of operations.

The new Marjata IV is a significantly improved and bigger version of its predecessors which have been operated by the Norwegian Intelligence Service since the days of the Cold War. The fourth model of the reconnaissance ship is 126 meters (413 feet) long and 23.5 meters (77 feet) wide. The ship's equipment was developed by experts at the Chatham naval base in the United States. The Marjata project ended up being one of the most expensive ones in the history of the Norwegian military — approximately 149 million euros ($170 million), according to the Swedish newspaper.

The new "Marjata" have far higher freeboard - distance from sea level to the deck. Covered is both longer and wider, and the ship has more deck than its predecessor. More space on the weather deck and increased height above sea level provides many gains in relation to the placement of antennas, including less interference, blind spots and increased range.

As on its predecessor has new "Marjata" chimney in the front of the vessel. It probably means that she, too, has the engines completely ahead. The design is specially designed to create at least noise and vibration by keeping the machines as long as possible away from the ship's advanced listening stations further behind. As the earlier vessels that have sailed for the intelligence service, is also new "Marjata" painted in civilian colors. A Navy gray stripe separates the deep blue hull from the white covered. The Stripe is also left on the vessel's stack.