Everyone agrees that the watch commander made a mistake when the frigate “Helge Ingstad” collided with a tanker in the Hjeltefjord on 8 November 2018. But can he be punished for the mistakes he made? That is the central question in the Gulating Court of Appeal. The warden was sentenced by the district court to 60 days’ suspended imprisonment. He appealed the case, because he believes he is innocent. The mistakes he made are due to an alleged system failure in the Navy, he believes. – It is clear that he experiences the case as a great burden. He feels that he has been singled out as a scapegoat. We will show why he did what he did, says Christian Lundin, who is the man’s defender. DEFENDER: – Your Honor. The defendant admits that he made a mistake. At the same time: He did the best he could, said Christian Lundin when he opened his introductory lecture. He defends the warden together with Tom Sørum (back). Photo: Adrian Nyhammer Olsen / news – No slobber dust – Your Honor. The defendant admits that he made a mistake. At the same time: He did the best he could, said defender Christian Lundin when he opened his introductory speech. The parties therefore agree that the frigate broke a number of maritime rules on the night of the accident. The trial will therefore be shorter now than in the district court. The defenders say that, to a greater extent than before, they will focus on how and why the warden made the mistakes. They believe that he cannot be blamed for misunderstanding the situation. – He was not a slob who was on his mobile phone or had a hangover. He followed the navigation, but was delusional. He was actually delusional until it was too late, Lundin said. The defenders believe that they have new information which will show that it is due to a system failure. They call in four new witnesses: a former security chief in the Navy, the one who was responsible for the training of the watch commander, two researchers who have investigated accidents and near misses in the Navy. Rejected “scapegoat” stamp. State prosecutors Benedikte Høgseth and Magne Kvamme Sylta believe that the watch commander can be punished. The accident happened on the night of 8 November 2018. It was dark but clear weather. The frigate KNM “Helge Ingstad” had taken part in a NATO exercise in northern Norway, when the frigate sailed into the Hjeltefjorden. With several oil facilities along the fjord, this stretch of sea is busy. The watch commander did not report to the maritime traffic center when they sailed into the area, he did not follow the radar, sailed without being visible on AIS, and did not understand that it was a tanker coming towards him. The watch commander also changed course by ten degrees, to avoid the light he thought was land. This he did without examining what the light before him was. The light was the tanker “Sola TS”, which came towards the frigate. That the warden is a scapegoat, i.e. someone who alone must take the blame for sins committed by several people, is flatly rejected by the prosecution. – There is no basis for the claim that he has been made a scapegoat. The indictment is a natural consequence of his actions, or failure to act. The scapegoat claim is rhetorically simple, but legally crazy, when the case’s evidence does not actually provide a basis for defendants against other people, said state attorney Benedikte Høgseth. In the introductory lecture, Høgseth said that even if a mistake can be explained, that will not remove the responsibility an individual has. – All errors can in principle be explained in a larger, underlying cause, she said. PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE: State prosecutors Benedikte Høgseth and Magne Kvamme Sylta are prosecutors in the case. Photo: Adrian Nyhammer Olsen / news – Norway as a nation was hit hard The prosecutor’s office pointed out how important the accident was. After the accident, the frigate ran aground and sank. A rescue operation was launched, but the frigate could not be saved. – The accident hit Norway as a nation hard, both financially and in terms of defence, says prosecutor Magne Kvamme Sylta in his introductory speech. At the time, the frigate cost NOK 4.3 billion to build. The scrap metal was sold for NOK 18 million. In addition, the rescue operation cost around NOK 750 million. – A fifth of Norway’s frigate weapons were lost. Norway’s naval defense was left behind with four frigates and weakened defense capabilities, he says.
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The prosecutor hits back against the “scapegoat” comment – news Vestland
