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Sunday marks two years since the dramatic collision between the frigate and the tanker outside the Sture terminal in Øygarden. The blame has yet to be shared.
The KNM Helge Ingstad frigate was evacuated after the collision with the Sture terminal in Øygarden.
Marit Hommedal / NTB
Published:
At 4.01 p.m. on November 8, 2018, the Sola TS struck the frigate KNM Helge Ingstad with its bow, after a failed attempt to avoid a collision. An audio record shows that the contact between the ships was established just a minute before it was tightened.
The accident, the crash and the subsequent failed salvage have been investigated, investigated and investigated, but the processes have not yet been completed and no blame has been distributed.
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Police case with the prosecutor
Police completed their investigation of the frigate accident in March. Four people have the status of suspects in the case after the collision: the duty officer on the frigate, the captain and the pilot on the tanker, as well as the operator at the Norwegian Coastal Administration maritime traffic center in Fedje.
After the Norwegian Prosecutor General and the Norwegian Maritime Directorate gave the police their statements for the investigation, the police sent a recommendation to the Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane prosecutor in September. The case is now under consideration, before the Public Ministry gives its recommendation to the Attorney General.
– The case has been investigated for almost two years, so naturally we need more time in this than in other cases. I cannot say when we are ready, we will take the time you need, out of respect for everyone involved, they deserve it, prosecutor Magne Sylta tells NTB.
KNM Helge Ingstad suffered serious damage in the collision with the Sola oil tanker. More water was coming in than the bilge pumps could get out. The frigate lost control and was helped by several tugs to be pushed ashore.
KV Bergen / Forsvaret / NTB
Demands
If a possible criminal case can be delayed, there are at least two other lawsuits on the way next year.
In the first, it is the State in the Ministry of Defense and the owners of Sola TS, who have sued each other. The Bergen District Court will rule on the parties’ liability for damages resulting from the collision. The case was supposed to go in September, but it was postponed and will start on March 1, 2021.
In the second case, the state sued the class company DNV GL (formerly Veritas) and demands NOK 15 billion in compensation. The state did this after the AIBN found in the first sub-report that the frigate had hollow propeller shafts, which caused the water to spread rapidly in the boat and contributed to its sinking when the accident occurred. The state believes that DNV GL should have revealed this in the 5-year inspection in 2016, when the class company ended up giving the frigate a new class certificate until 2021.
The case was supposed to take place this spring, but was postponed pending the final report from AIBN on what happened after the collision.
– We have finished the surveys now. You have to translate it, then everything will come to light for those affected. After this external consultation, there will probably be input. So we anticipate a release around March, says Dag Liseth, director of the shipping department at the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board.
The shipwrecked frigate KNM Helge Ingstad was photographed on Wednesday, November 14. The frigate then landed north of the Sture terminal in Hjeltefjorden, on the outskirts of Bergen.
Cornelius Poppe / NTB
Serious violations
The AIBN investigations only extend until the frigate receives the lost status. Then the so-called salvage operation began, in spring 2019. PwC and the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority have already submitted investigation reports.
The wrecked frigate was located at the main Navy base, Haakonsvern, and had to be repaired very quickly to be able to float again and be transported, causing the warning lights to come on at the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority. Contract workers worked long hours a week.
In July this year, the report of the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority was published. The Armed Forces and the five controlled companies that had people working on the shipwreck of the frigate have committed serious violations. Arbeidstilsynet states that several of the companies have sought guidance from the Authority to ensure that they correctly understand what is required in their comments.
– All companies have submitted documentation and responses that are being processed by the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority. Therefore, it is too early to report what will happen next. We hope to have a clear answer for companies during November, says Section Chief Marita Scott in the Oversight Department.
KNM “Helge Ingstad” at the dock of the CCB base in Ågotnes, on 8 November 2019, on the anniversary of the accident.
Marit Hommedal / NTB
Becomes scrap
The salvage operation failed and in June 2019 the government decided that KNM Helge Ingstad will not be repaired.
This summer, the frigate was put out to tender for decommissioning and will be turned into scrap.
– The frigate Helge Ingstad must be destroyed. It is now in circulation for the recovery of spare parts and preparation for destruction, in parallel with the work of obtaining offers from relevant Norwegian suppliers, says communications consultant Elisabeth Sandberg at Forsvarsmateriell.
He says it is a complicated job.
They are now in phase two of the job of choosing who will be tasked with destroying the ship.
– A supplier inspection was carried out on the frigate and a bidders conference was held in week 42. The bidding deadline is Nov. 12, says Sandberg, who doesn’t want to say how many or who are in the subsequent competition.
The defense material aims to sign the contract in the new year and that the dismantling works of the frigate can begin as soon as possible after that.
