Although being hold with wires, the Norwegian frigate ‘Helge Instad’ was depicted almost fully submerged on Tuesday, following collision with the Maltese-flagged oil tanker ‘Sola TS’ in Hjeltefjorden, off Bergen, in the early morning hours of Thursday. The Norwegian Coastal Administration is leading the oil spill response, while the Navy is leading the work on the crash investigation.
The KNM Helge Ingstad was returning from NATO military exercises on 8 November, while the tanker had earlier left Equinor’s Sture oil shipment terminal carrying a cargo of crude oil, when they collided at the Sture terminal for unspecified reason. The tanker suffered minor damage and there was no injury or oil spill reported.
However, the major damage in the frigate’s hull caused it to develop a very dangerous list. All of the 137 crew were safely evacuated with seven sailors suffering minor injuries. The ship had been being held afloat by cables since last week, but officials from Norway’s armed forces confirmed that the cables had snapped, making the sinking inevitable.
The Norwegian Coast Guard also informed that some fuel leaks were detected around the site, but of small significance, and a containment boom has been deployed around the ship.
