– Almost everything that could go wrong, went wrong at the same time. The defendant was only a small contribution in the course of events, says Christian Lundin. He defends the 33-year-old who is the only defendant after the collision between KNM “Helge Ingstad” and “Sola TS”. On Monday, the trial started after the ship collision on 8 November 2018. The accident claimed no lives, but the frigate was totally damaged and later had to be cut up. The main question the court must decide on is: Can the man who had supreme responsibility on the warship be punished as the only individual? ACCIDENT: KNM “Helge Ingstad” with a broad side in Øygarden in the autumn of 2018, after a collision with the cargo ship “Sola TS”. Photo: Kystverket The public prosecutors clearly think yes. They started the trial by attacking the warden and his decisions. On the opposite side, defender Lundin pointed the finger at everyone else who was involved in the collision. The 33-year-old denies criminal guilt, and the defender is asking for an acquittal. Lundin attacks the Navy’s lack of a security system. At the same time, he claims to provide new information about the tanker’s role. – System error He believes that the defendant’s error occurred due to a system failure in the Armed Forces. – The accident could have been avoided if the others involved had done what they were supposed to, says Lundin. – We would argue that much of the sinking was due to system errors. There were seven people on the bridge when the ships collided. The 33-year-old had the ultimate responsibility for navigating, and he had two people with him who were undergoing training. The defendant was given responsibility for training five months after he was approved as head of duty. Lundin says that this was too early. – He was cleared too soon and he was set to train two others without a risk assessment, he says. Lundin showed the Accident Investigation Board its report on the incident. It says that watch commanders should not normally be given training responsibility until after the first two years as a certified watch commander, according to interviews with people in the Norwegian Navy. – He had short experience as a watch commander, and little support from the others on the bridge, he says. The armed forces had not assessed the consequences of training nor introduced measures to compensate for the fact that there were two on training. He believes that the corporate penalty that the Ministry of Defense received of NOK 10 million shows that there was a system error. The tanker photographed from a helicopter a few hours after the accident. Now the defender believes that the crew here played an important role in the accident. Photo: Lasse Wallace / news Lundin also believes that the watch commander did not get enough support from the others on the bridge. – He played them badly by not reporting what they said, and not doing what they were supposed to, he says to news. In addition, Lundin says that four of the seven on the bridge had reduced vision. One of them was not fit for sea duty and another was not considered fit for bridge watch, he says. These, the defender believes, made mistakes before “Helge Ingstad” collided. The watchman on “Helge Ingstad” had the highest responsibility on the bridge when the ship collided with “Sola TS”. The prosecution believes he should be punished for negligence. His defender, Christian Lundin, on the other hand, believes that the watch commander was only one of many who made a mistake on the night of the accident, and that he cannot be blamed alone: System errors in the Armed Forces with regard to competence and safety management Reprehensible routines for the clearance of watch commanders, routines for training etc. The working conditions on the bridge, including the training of two people at the same time, placement of the VHF radio, noise etc. Mistakes committed by the others on the bridge, and which were contrary to what the watch commander could expect Gross mistakes committed by “Sola TS” Gross mistakes committed by Fedje traffic control center Thinks “Sola TS” is partly to blame Also former watch teams, others on the bridge at KNM “Helge Ingstad”, the captain and pilot of the tanker “Sola TS” and traffic controllers at the maritime traffic center Fedje VTS made mistakes, he believes. – He cannot be blamed for what happens at “Sola TS” and Fedje, he says. There are several things that are done wrong on the tanker, Lundin believes: The strong deck light on “Sola TS” meant that the bridge at Helge Ingstad could not see the lanterns on the ship. “Sola TS” should have discovered the frigate earlier by using radar “Sola TS” did not follow its own manuals “Sola TS” could have called up “Helge Ingstad” earlier. – “Sola TS”‘s responsibility in this role has been under-communicated, he believes. The Norwegian Navy: Divided thoughts about guilt Rune Andersen, who is the head of the Norwegian Navy, tells news that he does not want to say what he thinks about guilt and responsibility, since he himself will testify in the case. – Many on board had a dramatic experience. WE have also taken care of the warden all the time until we are standing here now, with colleague support and also professional support in the preparation for the trial. – We have heard from the crew on board KNM “Helge Ingstad” that they feel he is being hung unfairly. Do you think that’s a feeling that runs through the Navy? – I think there are many different thoughts about it, and it is not unnatural that there are many who think as you say. I will go in and testify in the trial myself. Therefore, I have to wait until my certificate to say what I think about guilt and responsibility, he says.
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Defender believes the Norwegian Navy, “Sola TS” and Fedje VTS made a mistake – news Vestland
