Norway frigate collision due mainly to human factors: inquiry
A collision earlier this month between a Norwegian frigate and a Maltese oil tanker was mainly due to human factors, investigators said 29 November, ruling out a technical error at this stage.
Returning from NATO's Trident Juncture exercises, the KNM Helge Ingstad frigate sank after crashing into the Sola TS tanker in the early hours of 8 November, in a fjord near the western Norwegian town of Bergen.
Eight of the 137 people aboard the frigate received minor injuries.
‘As we see it, this is largely due to human factors,’ Dag Liseth of Norway's Accident Investigation Board told reporters as the preliminary findings into the cause of the accident were presented.
Investigators said the frigate's crew appeared to have confused the tanker with land, as the lights on the tanker - which was departing an oil terminal - blended together with the terminal's lights, and also made it impossible to see the tanker's navigation lanterns.
Another misunderstanding also occurred. The frigate ignored the tanker's warnings over the radio to veer starboard to avoid a collision, thinking the calls were coming from another vessel farther away in the fjord.
‘No isolated action or event caused the accident, but the accident can be explained by a series of compounded factors and circumstances,’ the accident board said in its preliminary assessment.
It also said it had no ‘indication at present that technical systems malfunctioned’.
Authorities are still trying to raise the 5,000-tonne vessel, which is almost entirely submerged.
More from Naval Warfare
-
US Coast Guard enhances Arctic protection with a new Fast Response Cutter
After commissioning, FRC Frederick Mann will operate in Alaska and perform multiple missions.
-
US Coast Guard announces measures to further implement Force Design 2028 strategy
The US Coast Guard (USCG) created new units, including five Programme Executive Offices (PEOs), to facilitate and speed up the procurement of new capabilities.
-
Future of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke programme remains unclear
The US Navy does not have a precise date for the award of the procurement contract for the third Arleigh Burke-class destroyer despite having the funds to advance with the programme in FY2025.
-
US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes
The US Navy (USN) is currently reassessing its acquisition efforts and seeking ways to reduce the multiple delays across the shipbuilding initiatives.
-
Australia commissions HMAS Arafura three-and-a-half years behind schedule
The Royal Australian Navy has finally commissioned the first Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel – more than three years behind schedule – highlighting the programme’s delays, design compromises and ongoing industrial restructuring.
-
Italy orders two ships as work begins on others along with deliveries and updates
The Italian Navy is being refreshed with two new ships ordered, while in the past six months steel was cut for a new frigate, an enhanced frigate was delivered and Horizon-class frigates passed a design review.