A Norwegian naval officer stands trial on January 16, accused of negligence that led to the 2018 collision between the Helge Ingstad he commanded and an the oil tanker Sola TS crude, after which the military vessel sank.
The crash between the Ingstad and the fully loaded Sola TS crude carrier near a major North Sea oil export terminal triggered shutdowns of parts of Norway’s petroleum production.
While, there was no leak from the oil tanker, members of the 137-strong Ingstad crew described waking up in the middle of the night as water poured into their cabins and alarms went off as they tried to save the ship, although they suffered only minor injuries.
Now, as Reuters reports, the defendant was the officer in charge on the bridge of the Ingstad at the time. According to prosecutor Magne Kvamme Sylta, the defendant “did not display caution and did not take the precautions that safe navigation requires.”
On the other hand, the defendant’s lawyer, Christian Lundin, told Norwegian news agency NTB, that he was unfairly singled out for blame and will plead not guilty.
Recordings of communication between the two vessels showed the slow-moving Sola several times asking the faster Ingstad to change its course or face collision, but the request was declined by the navy ship, which feared getting too close to shore.
A commission investigating the collision later said the brightly lit Sola TS may have faced difficulties to distinguish from the nearby terminal from where it had set off, thus confusing the Ingstad crew.
What is more, a video recording from the tanker showed sparks flying as the two collided, tearing a gash in the side of the warship, which was later recycled as scrap metal. The tanker suffered only minor damage.
The collision exposed safety gaps in the Norwegian navy, including inadequate training and risk assessment systems. The defense ministry later paid a fine of 10 million crowns.
