Ten thousand tonnes of rock could be transported about 600 miles (950km) across the North Sea to the English coast as part of efforts to protect a town’s sea wall.
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council said it needed to strengthen sea defences along the Hunstanton promenade after investigations found cracks.
It plans to bring granite rock armour from Norway to King’s Lynn, before then transporting it up the coast to Hunstanton
It will be an interim measure before a wider £40m project is completed to repair the sea wall, now more vulnerable because sand is being washed away by changing tides.
Dave Robson, the council’s environmental health manager, said the sea wall was at risk of sliding forwards and slumping and without intervention there was a risk it could fail.
“We have caught it early enough to prevent it collapsing,” he added.
The new rock armour will be approximately 200m (650ft) in length and 9m (29ft) wide once installed, with each three tonne rock being about the size of a family car.
It is likely to be delivered from Norway to King’s Lynn port, as the water is too shallow to deliver it directly to Hunstanton’s seafront, which looks over the vast Wash estuary.