The 33-year-old who is being prosecuted after the “Helge Ingstad” accident had been in command of the warship for eight minutes before the collision. Before that, there was a now 34-year-old man who was the warden. On Wednesday, he gave his statement in court. In court, new information emerged about the dialogue between the two. At 03.45. The tanker “Sola TS” left the quay at Stureterminalen. Further north in the Hjeltefjord, KNM “Helge Ingstad” arrived. At the same time, the change of guard and the handover on KNM “Helge Ingstad” were underway. The outgoing and incoming duty commander discussed what an illuminated object at the Sture terminal could be. They concluded that the object was at rest by the quay, the outgoing warden told the court. The outgoing duty manager said that he saw on the screen that this was “Sola TS”. But they did not check what “Sola TS” was.Graphic: Norwegian Accident Investigation Board – Terrible to listen to on the audio log At 03.53, the outgoing watch commander logged that the handover was complete. He then went down to the mass to eat. Audio logs show that “Sola TS” asks if it is “Helge Ingstad” who is coming towards them at 03.59.55. The audio recording became a new topic in court. The 34-year-old was clearly affected and had to take long breaks when he was asked about the audio recording. – I have experienced it as absolutely terrible to listen to. I hear how confused he is. He’s not like that. It doesn’t sound like him I know, he said in court. – What do you think about confused, asked the prosecutor. – On situational awareness. I just imagine him getting this call and it sounds like he doesn’t understand who is calling him. Now it has been a long time since I last heard the recordings. I have steered clear of them for my own sake, because it makes a big impression, he replied. THE WITNESS BOX: The outgoing warden had a demanding day in the witness box. He left the Navy in 2021. Today he works as a mate in a civilian shipping company. Photo: Jon Bolstad / news Saw “Sola TS” on the map When the frigate sailed south in the Hjeltefjorden, the frigate sailed past a ship that they had on their port side. Against came three other ships on the port side. Ahead to starboard was the Sture terminal, and a luminous object which the watch commander believes appeared to be at the quay. There was no indication on the radar that the ship was moving. On another screen, he could see two AIS markers (automatic identification system) at the Sture terminal. One of them showed “Sola TS”. What kind of vessel this was, however, was not investigated. The outgoing duty manager also perceived that his incoming colleague got this on board. – We looked at the same thing. – You took it as if the defendant found out that the ship was called “Sola TS”? – Yes, I want to say that. It was part of the handover that we were doing. During the handover, at 03.51.11, the AIS marker changed from showing that the ship was moored to that it was under way with engine power. Did not hear “Sola TS’s” radio messages In this sea area, all boats are obliged to listen to radio channel 80 on the VHF radio. There, the maritime traffic center at Fedje communicates with all the vessels in the area. At 03.13 “Sola TS” announced over the radio that they were starting to prepare the ship for departure. At 03.45 the tanker announced that it was departing from Sture Terminalen. Both times this was acknowledged by Fedje, but at “Helge Ingstad” the watch commanders did not get this. The defenders of the accused man asked the outgoing warden who was responsible for keeping the duty of listening. – It’s my watch until he takes it, replied the 34-year-old. – Until 03.53 are you the one who has the duty to listen? – Yes. – If you had received these messages, how do you think it would have affected the description of the situation you later gave to the defendant? – It would have been completely different. Then there would have been no doubt that the boat sailed. TWO AIS MARKS: The outgoing duty officer saw that there were two AIS markers at the Sture terminal. This was “Sola TS” and a tugboat. Photo: Lasse Wallace / news Challenging training On the night of the accident, an American officer was under training as a watch commander, both under the outgoing and incoming watch commander. She had limited experience from a frigate, and the outgoing watch commander felt that she needed some follow-up on the bridge. – It steals capacity, he said. – Having training responsibility for someone at her skill level versus sailing yourself, what do you think about that, the defenders asked the accused watch commander. – If I had sailed myself, I would have had a greater capacity to build a better picture of the situation, said the witness.
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Outgoing watch commander had a duty to listen, but did not hear the tanker – news Vestland
