Lost control of frigate – news Vestland

On 6 August 2022, the frigate KNM “Thor Heyerdahl” was to dock at the Navy’s main base Haakonsvern outside Bergen. At the dock, the frigate got a rope into the thruster at the front of the boat. This caused the frigate to lose propulsion and power supply for a period. Now the Accident Investigation Board has come up with a report on what happened. The incident is previously known, but not the seriousness of the case. Believes the incident is similar to the Helge Ingstad accident The Accident Investigation Board believes that the incident has several similarities to the Helge Ingstad accident. “Security advice given to the Norwegian Navy in this area in connection with the report on KNM Helge Ingstad has not been sufficiently followed up and closed”, they write. The similarity applies to poor manning on the frigates. The manning concept on the frigates is called the “Lean Manning Concept”, and is a minimum crew to operate the ship as cheaply as possible. In the report, the Accident Investigation Board writes that the staffing could work just fine in a normal operation, but that the staffing was not sufficient when this situation arose. Leaders who were supposed to form a correct picture of the situation and command, instead had to do tasks themselves. This meant that there was a lack of personnel with a clear overview of the situation. Three pieces of advice The National Accident Investigation Board has sent the following three safety recommendations: The National Accident Investigation Board advises the Ministry of Defense to ensure that the Norwegian Armed Forces carry out measures that ensure that the frigates’ manning concept is made robust enough for safe operation. The Norwegian Accident Investigation Board advises the Ministry of Defense to ensure that the Norwegian Armed Forces, in collaboration with Defense Material, carry out measures that ensure the operator of the frigates an overview of the overall risk picture that affects safe operation. The National Accident Investigation Board advises the Ministry of Defense to implement measures to ensure a comprehensive and independent supervisory function for naval activities in the defense sector.



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