A naval officer is being accused of negligence that lead to a collision between a warship and oil tanker.
The collision between a warship and the oil tanker
The accident occurred in 2018 when a warship which was commanded by the Norwegian naval officer collided with an oil tanker. The accident cause the naval vessel to sink. Building a replacement for the vessel would cost an estimated USD 1.3 billion according a 2019 report.
Shutdown terminal
The crash between the Ingstad and the fully loaded Sola TS crude carrier happened near major North Sea oil export terminal. Which caused to shutdown parts of Norway’s petroleum production. There was reportedly no leaks and the tanker only suffered minor damages. A video recording shows sparks flying as the 2 vessels collided tearing gash on the warship.
The Ingstad crew described the early morning collision as waking up in the middle of the night while poured into their cabins and alarms went off. The crew suffered minor injuries.
Only one man to blame
“He did not display caution and did not take the precautions that safe navigation requires,” prosecutor Magne Kvamme Sylta said in the charges. However, according to the defendant lawyer Christian Lundin, defendant, believes he was unfairly singled out for blame and will plead not guilty.
The slow moving oil tanker reportedly, asked the faster Ingstad several times to move to avoid the collision. But the warship declined the request in fear that the vessel get too close to the shore.
An investigation later shows the bright lit Sola could been mistaken for the terminal nearby confusing the warship crew.
This incident serve as a need for more safety, training and risk assessment to the Norwegian naval force. The defense ministry later paid a fine of 10 million crowns.
