Probe reveals why massive cargo ship ran aground in Norway, narrowly missing man's house

Sunday World

2 days ago

In an incident that made headlines around the world, the 135-metre cargo vessel, the NCL Salten, ran shore just before 5am on Thursday
The view from the window of Helberg's house of the ship in his garden
Johan Helberg spoke of the 'unreal' moment he went out into his garden to see the ship's bow rearing up into the sky
An investigation has revealed the reason why a massive container ship ran aground in Norway, narrowly missing one man's house.
In an incident that made headlines around the world, the 135-metre cargo vessel, the NCL Salten beached just before 5am on Thursday after entering the Trondheim fjord on its way to the western town of Orkanger.
Local man, Johan Helberg, spoke of the 'unreal' moment he went out into his garden to see the ship's bow rearing up into the sky.
'I went to the window and was quite astonished to see a big ship,' Helberg told the Guardian. 'I had to bend my neck to see the top of it. It was so unreal.'
The view from the window of Helberg's house of the ship in his garden
The ship's second officer, who has admitted to having fallen asleep just before the incident, has been charged with negligence in connection with the incident.
However, he has since claimed that the bridge alarms had been switched off before the ship grounded.
This has been confirmed by Norwegian authorities who launched an investigation to determine the events that led up to the incident.
They have established that the navigation watch alarm system (BNWAS) on the ship was already switched off by the time it came ashore.
A local newspaper, NRK, has reported that an official with the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) said the grounding could have been avoided if the BNWAS had been switched on.
The ship remained stuck aground on Thursday after the first attempt to remove it was unsuccessful but it has since been refloated and towed to Orkanger.
Local authorities have determined that none of the local houses were damaged and that no injuries or oil spills occurred as a result of the mishap.
An astonished neighbour recalled watching the ship, which was travelling at about 16 knots (approximately 30kmh), heading straight for the shore into Helberg's garden, narrowly missing his house.
Helberg, who lives in Byneset, near Trondheim, slept through the entire drama and only awoke when his neighbour rang his doorbell.
Johan Helberg spoke of the 'unreal' moment he went out into his garden to see the ship's bow rearing up into the sky
News in 90 Seconds - May 31st
'Normally ships turn left or right into the fjord. But this went straight ahead,' Helberg, who has lived in the house for 25 years, added. 'It was very close to the house.'
North Sea Container Line, the operator of NCL Salten, has confirmed that it is cooperating in the investigation into the mishap.
NCL's chief executive, Bente Hetland, said there was 'no reason to believe this was intentional'.
'Incidents like this should not happen, and we have started an investigation into the causes. Today, we are relieved that there were no injuries, and our main focus is on the people near the ship and our crew,' she added.