The warden met in Hordaland district court in service uniform. The now 33-year-old man is charged with having caused marine damage through negligence. He is also charged under the Military Penal Code for not complying with his duty. On 8 November 2018, he was in command of KNM “Helge Ingstad”, when the warship collided with the oil tanker “Sola TS” outside Stureterminalen in Hjeltefjorden. In court, he pleaded not guilty. WAS LOST: The frigate was left here 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 – Not a scapegoat All 137 on board the frigate survived the collision, but eight people were slightly injured. The 4.3 billion frigate was lost and a very important part of Norway’s defense was left aground in the quays for months. The prosecution believes the main cause of the collision was negligent navigation on the frigate. The man, who was 29 when the collision occurred, sits alone on the dock. He himself believes that the indictment is unfair. – He has been hung out as a scapegoat for a system that has failed, said his defender Christian Lundin before the trial started. Prosecutor Benedikte Høgseth, on the other hand, believes that he, as the most responsible person on board, acted contrary to good seamanship. – The prosecution’s view is that the defendant has not been made a scapegoat for the Armed Forces. – His omission was not the result of system failure, but individual decisions. He was negligent, she says. § 356 of the Penal Code, cf. § 355 for negligently causing marine damage, which could easily result in the loss of human life. Negligently causing danger to the public is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to 3 years. Military Penal Code § 78 first paragraph and third paragraph for as a commanding officer to have been guilty of negligence or carelessness in the performance of their official duties, and significant damage has been caused, […].«If significant damage has been caused by the commander’s negligence, carelessness or lack of understanding, imprisonment for up to 2 years can be applied, […]». – There were several people who made mistakes. The commander of the watch on the frigate has said that he feels hung as a scapegoat. He believes there were several people who made mistakes in Hjeltefjorden on the night of the accident. – Significant system errors have occurred here, also at the tanker and at the traffic center at Fedje. If you look at the whole sequence of events in context, he believes you can see that it was a system failure that was the cause of the accident and that the cause lies somewhere completely different from him, says defender Christian Lundin to news. In connection with charges being brought against the guard commander, the Ministry of Defense received a corporate penalty of NOK 10 million for violating the same section of law for which the guard commander is now being prosecuted. The cases against the Norwegian Coastal Administration, the traffic operator, the pilot and the captain were dropped as “no criminal offense proved”. Must explain himself in five days So a full eight weeks have been set aside for the trial in Hordaland district court. It has also taken over four years from the collision until the case comes up. The reason is that the case is large and complex, involves many actors and the investigation has spent time elucidating all sides of the case. The trial starts with preliminary proceedings from the prosecution and the defense, before the court on day two goes to inspect a frigate bridge. On Wednesday 18 January, the accused will begin his statement. A whole five days have been set aside for it. – He dreads the trial but is looking forward to telling his version, says defender Lundin. Over 30 witness statements A number of key people have also been summoned to testify in the case. Over 30 witnesses have been called. The witness list includes the entire crew who were on the bridge when the collision occurred. Several of them were 19–20 years old on the night of the accident. Two of them were undergoing training, including an American officer who trained in navigation as a watch commander. This was the crew on the bridge when the collision occurred Photo: Accident Investigation Board The others on the bridge have all been called in as witnesses in the trial in Hordaland district court. In addition, the outgoing warden must also testify. Duty manager: Male (33). Was 29 years old and was approved as a guard just eight months before the collision. Graduated from the Naval Academy and was approved as watch commander after three quarters of a year in training at “Helge Ingstad”. Warden in training: Woman (born in 1989). American officer, who sailed the ship while the watch commander was responsible for navigation and training. Had worked on Norwegian frigates since 2017 and gathered experience in navigation. On the night of the accident, she had been on the bridge since 02.18. The warden’s assistant: Woman (24). Was 20 years old when the collision happened. Had started as an apprentice sailor in the Navy after first service and had been on board the frigate for 14 months. The warden’s assistant in training: Male (23). Was 19 years old when the collision occurred. In first service and was a sailor’s apprentice. Mønstra on board around 14 days before the collision. Starboard lookout: Female (24). Was 20 years old the night of the collision. In the first service. Started on duty at 02.00 and first spent an hour as port lookout, then helmsman. Went to eat dinner at 03.51 and returned at 03.59 and took over as starboard lookout. Port lookout: Man (24). Was 20 years old when the collision happened. Also in the first service and muster on board the frigate eight months before the collision. Helmsman: Male (24). Was 20 years old when the collision happened. In first service and enlisted on board the frigate four months before the accident. Took over as helmsman at 03.48. He perceived earlier than the others that the “luminous object” was a vessel in motion, but assumed that both the watch commander and the watch commander’s assistant were aware of this. Just before the collision, he also realized that they were on a collision course and stood up to be ready to carry out helm orders. The outgoing watch commander is a man (34) who had been a navigator on several frigates for the Norwegian Navy and had a civilian education in nautical. Had also been on board the Skjold class for three years, as well as sailing on civilian vessels along the Norwegian coast for one year. He had the responsibility as watch commander on the frigate on watch that ran from midnight to 04:00 on the night of the accident, but had therefore handed over responsibility to the incoming watch commander at 03:53. Source: Norwegian Accident Investigation Board’s interim report 1. The outgoing watch commander will also be in court to testify. He had the 00-04 watch on the bridge and handed over the voyage to the accused watch commander just a short quarter of an hour before the crash. In addition, the captain and pilot of “Sola TS” and the traffic operator at Fedje sea traffic center will be in court to testify.
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The warden denies criminal guilt – news Vestland
