– It is right to establish personal criminal liability, says prosecutor Magne Kvamme Sylta about the head of duty at KNM “Helge Ingstad”. On Wednesday, the prosecution held its proceedings in the extensive trial after the frigate KNM “Helge Ingstad” collided with the oil tanker “Sola TS” outside Stureterminalen in Hjeltefjorden on 8 November 2018. The prosecution requested that the accused warden be sentenced to 120 days of suspended prison, with a probationary period in two years. The only mitigating circumstances that are highlighted are the processing time, specifically that the case was left for over a year with the Attorney General. Defender Christian Lundin does not want to comment on the allegation, until he himself holds his proceedings tomorrow. STATE ATTORNEYS: The prosecution in the trial against the warden at KNM “Helge Ingstad”, the state attorneys Benedikte Høgseth and Magne Kvamme Sylta. Photo: Jon Bolstad / news The trial has lasted over two months, and three days have been set aside for the conclusion in Hordaland district court. Throughout the trial, the prosecution has attacked the assessments that the now 33-year-old duty manager made before the collision. The captain of the watch is being prosecuted for having caused marine damage through negligence. He is also charged under the Military Penal Code for not complying with his duty. He has always denied criminal responsibility for the accident. Many have also reacted to the fact that he alone stands accused in the case. Compared with the Sleipner accident State prosecutor Benedikte Høgseth compared the collision in the Hjeltefjorden with the Sleipner accident in 1999. She highlighted how the Sleipner captain was convicted, and how no one came to his defense and stated that his actions were the result of system failure or lack of training. Towards the end of the proceedings, the Sleipner accident was drawn in as the only verdict that it was natural to take as a starting point. – The level and starting point in this case should be the same as in the Sleipner case, even though no human life was lost during the collision in the Hjeltefjorden. In the Sleipner case, the captain was sentenced to six months’ suspended imprisonment in the Court of Appeal. – We believe that the accused watch commander’s degree of negligence is more serious than the Sleipner captain’s, said Høgseth before she submitted her request for a 120-day suspended prison sentence. WAS LOST: The frigate was left at Stureterminalen for several months before it was raised in a major salvage operation. It was nevertheless lost and was eventually chopped up. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – Irresponsible behavior State Attorney Magne Kvamme Sylta went into more detail about the basis for criminal liability in the case. He concluded that it was the indefensible behavior of the defendant watch commander which was the main cause of the collision in Hjeltefjorden. – Had he kept a proper lookout, sailed at a safe speed, and used all available means, he would have discovered or uncovered that the object on his starboard side was the Sola TS, and the collision would not have taken place. Sylta also included the degree of negligence. – Our opinion is that the degree is well above the level of simple negligence. BRIDGE: From the bridge of the frigate, the accused watch commander (33) reported for the first time about the events on the night KNM “Helge Ingstad” collided. The picture is from the court’s inspection of the sister ship KNM “Roald Amundsen”. Photo: Geir Olsen / POOL / NTB – He had the skills needed for Sylta also highlighted the experience of the watch commander. The prosecutor believes there is no doubt that the warden had thorough education and the necessary practical experience. He referred, among other things, to the ship’s commander Preben Ottesen, who has said during the trial that he trusted the watch commander very much, whom he himself trusted eight months before the collision. – I wouldn’t be able to sleep on a frigate if I didn’t trust the watch commander I had trusted to sail my ship, Ottesen said during his explanation. – He had the skills needed to be able to act responsibly as a watch commander on the bridge, concluded Sylta, and added that there is absolutely no basis for lowering the requirements and expectations for care from the watch commander. Sylta believes the duty manager has explained himself in a way that gives reason to question whether he has understood the expectations placed on a duty manager. Among other things, he pointed out that the defendant watch commander expected others on the bridge to be responsible for monitoring the radar and reporting. – By expressing this in court, the defendant mirrors the expectations we have of his role as warden. He is the one who will take the initiative to collect the information and be the proactive one on the bridge. He should not stand still and wait to get, he should lean forward, said Sylta. Graphic: Accident Investigation Board Criticism of the Chief of the Navy In the prosecution’s proceedings, criticism was also put forward against the Chief of the Navy Rune Andersen. Andersen has indicated that it is the access to information the police have obtained that has led to the warden being prosecuted. Andersen has said that the outcome of the investigation means that they have to consider whether they should be as open as they have been, should an accident happen again. – We believe it is populist and speculative for the head of the navy to insinuate that different access to information is the background for the indictment against the watch commander, said Høgseth. Høgseth also emphasized that the actions of Sola TS and Fedje VTS cannot have any significance for the due diligence assessment of the defendant. – Sola TS’s actions were not of an extraordinary or unpredictable nature. They also complied with the rules of the sea. Fedje VTS also did not exhibit any unpredictable or extraordinary behaviour, and did not influence the defendant’s understanding of the situation or his actions. Read all news’s cases about the trial here.
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The prosecutor asks for a 120-day suspended prison sentence for the supervisor at KNM “Helge Ingstad” – news Vestland
