On Monday, the questioning of the accused warden (33) at KNM “Helge Ingstad” was finished. For a total of three court days, the man has been grilled about the decisive minute and second before the collision in Hjeltefjorden in 2018. At the end of the questioning, district court judge Kristin Farstad wanted to know why the watch commander took over responsibility on the bridge earlier than set up. The duty manager actually had the shift that ran from 04.00 to 08.00, but took over at 03.53. At 04.01.15 the frigate collided with the tanker “Sola TS”. – There would have been nothing to prevent me from waiting, but I was ready earlier. We take over to be a bit nice to the outgoing warden. So that he could get to bed a few minutes earlier, answered the warden. – So it was your initiative. Did you have good night vision then?, asked the district court judge. – I felt I had good enough night vision to take over. AT THE INSPECTION: Commander Lars Larsson (left) and Commander Christoffer Brekke on KNM “Roald Amundsen” explain to the court what the frigate bridge is like. District court judge Kristin Farstad on the right. Photo: Geir Olsen / POOL / NTB – Taking over when you have gained control The 33-year-old is now charged with careless navigation and for being the main reason why the two ships collided. Earlier on Monday, the watch commander explained that it was normal to wait with the handover for the change of watch commander, if situations had arisen that had to be resolved. – “I don’t have a complete overview and will continue a little longer”, perhaps someone used to say as the outgoing watch commander back then. Then you take over when you have gained control of the situation, said the watch commander. He has explained that he and the outgoing watch commander clarified during the handover that “the shining object” was not a vessel, but something that was at rest on land. At 03.59.56, i.e. four seconds before his scheduled shift, “Sola TS” made contact on the radio to ask the frigate to “turn to starboard”. Asked about the “pressure” The defense officers got straight to the point about the training and clearance process for watch commanders in the Navy in their questioning on Monday. The defendant has said that he experienced “some pressure” when he was being trained as a guard in the year before the collision. Defense attorney Christian Lundin asked the guard to elaborate. – It was my opinion that the vast majority were cleared within a year. And that there was an expectation that we would be able to do the same, said the warden. – I found it important for my own career to be trusted. So that I could exercise my profession fully and completely. But also so that those who had the training with me could continue their careers, said the warden. Never practiced “incorrect understanding of the situation” The defenders of the watch commander believe that much of the sinking is due to system errors. Both in the Norwegian Navy, on the tanker they collided with and at the Fedje sea traffic centre. The prosecution, on the other hand, believes that the accident happened because of the duty manager’s own decisions. They have shown that several people have referred to him as skilled. In a police interview, the 33-year-old also said that he “largely” had the skills to navigate the frigate. But his own defenders will focus on the fact that the guard was inexperienced. He was approved as a guard only eight months before the accident. Therefore, he was unable to correct the incorrect understanding of the situation he had about “the shining object”. – During the clearance race to become watch commander, did you ever practice a situation like this, for example in the simulator?, asked defender Lundin. – No. It happened to a small, or no, degree that we were presented with the wrong picture of the situation in order to turn it around. There were no specific exercises that involved the fact that one had insufficient information from the bridge crew and had to change their understanding of the situation. There was no focus on that, replied the duty manager. DEFENDING THE GUARD: Christian Lundin (left) and Tom Sørum. Photo: Marit Hommedal / NTB – But have you reflected in retrospect on what your relatively short experience had to say?, asked the other defender, Tom Sørum. – I felt when I was standing there that I had enough experience to be there. I followed the procedures and rules that were in place. Then I see that changes have been made and that you now have to have longer sailing time to be able to have someone under training. It is difficult to say whether it would be decisive in my situation. – Training was a disruptive element As news wrote at the weekend, the situation that was on the bridge on the night of the accident would not be legal in the Norwegian Navy today. Today, one must have 12 months of sailing time before being approved as a watch commander, and a further 12 months of sailing time as an independent watch commander before being given training responsibility. The accused warden started his training in August 2017 and was cleared in March the following year. Just under four months later, the watch commander was given training responsibility for a new watch commander on exchange from the American Navy. It was she who was being trained as a watch commander when the frigate collided. – It depends on the situation whether it is a burden or whether it is positive to have training responsibility. The positive thing is that you get more eyes to keep an eye on things, said the warden. Then he agreed that having someone under training was a “disturbing element”. Today, too, the guard directed some attention to the fact that the rest of the bridge did not help him any more in the situation that arose. His defender has previously told news that the bridge “he played badly”. The watch commander was also critical of the messages on the radios that they had to “take starboard”. He thinks the pilot on “Sola TS” could have been clearer about who they were and that they were on a collision course. – The calls on the radio were bland and uninformative, said the warden. Important witnesses The next few days will be devoted to witness statements from the crew on the frigate. On Tuesday, four of those who perhaps came closest to death during the collision will talk about what they experienced. On Wednesday, the outgoing warden will explain himself to the court. On Thursday, two of those who were on the bridge when they collided will testify. One is the helmsman, who understood much earlier than the others that the “luminous object” was actually a vessel in motion. He only ruddered on orders from the watch commander and he also assumed that the watch commander was aware that “Sola TS” was actually a vessel moving towards them.
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The accused watch commander took over the watch earlier to be nice – news Vestland
