It has been four and a half years since the frigate sinking in the Hjeltefjord in 2018. The frigate KNM “Helge Ingstad” collided with the tanker “Sola TS” outside Stureterminalen on the night of 8 November 2018. No one was killed in the accident, but the warship sank and later had to be scuttled up. A now 33-year-old man was the watch commander on board the warship, and was responsible for navigating the boat. The frigate KNM “Helge Ingstad” collided with a tanker in Øygarden This winter, the Hordaland district court dealt with the question: Can he be convicted for the mistakes he made? The verdict came on Monday. The warden is sentenced to a 60-day suspended prison sentence after the accident. – He takes this sentence seriously. He is disappointed by the result and still believes that it is incorrect to blame him in a criminal context solely for this accident, says his defender Christian Lundin. The warden has not decided whether he will appeal the verdict. That’s why he is sentenced According to defender Lundin, the district court attaches importance to four factors that make the Hordaland District Court judge the watch commander: The watch commander did not monitor the radar to a sufficient extent. The duty manager did not catch calls on the VHF radio. The watch commander made course changes to port, without making sure what he was going to steer away from. No one else acted in an extraordinary way that can excuse his action. Lundin says that one co-judge dissented in the judgment. This judge believes that the warden was cleared too soon and had a training responsibility which took away the focus. – He should never have stood on that bridge with the experience he had. And he also had a training responsibility. He did the best he could, he believes himself, says Lundin. The judgment is 60 pages long. – We are very satisfied with the verdict. The court has agreed with us on the central points, says State Attorney Benedikte Høgseth to news. Demanded a full acquittal The prosecution believed that the duty manager must be held responsible for the collision. They asked for 120 days of probation for the now 33-year-old man. The warden has always denied criminal guilt. His defenders believe that the duty manager’s mistake was only a small part of the blame for the accident. They thought he should be acquitted. During the eight weeks the trial took place, the district court was presented with arguments for and against whether the warden could be convicted. SANK: KNM “Helge Ingstad” was one of Norway’s five frigates. It sank after the accident. After a dramatic rescue attempt, the frigate was lost and eventually cut up. Photo: Kystverket, Kystvakten/Forsvaret It has caused reactions, especially in defense circles, that one individual alone could be punished for the accident. Among others, the head of the navy believed that the accident was due to a system error in the navy. Before the trial, the Ministry of Defense accepted a fine of NOK 10 million after the accident, but the parties disagree about what this entails. The prosecutor believes that the fine is an acknowledgment that one of the employees of the Norwegian Armed Forces has made a mistake, while the defenders believe that the fine indicates a system error. It is not yet known whether either party will appeal.
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The warden sentenced to 60 days’ suspended prison – news Vestland
