Does he who navigated the frigate have enough guilt to be judged? That is the main question in the Gulating Court of Appeal for the next four weeks, when the appeal case after the “Helge Ingstad” sinking will be heard. Since the commander of the watch was sentenced to 60 days in prison in May, his defenders have read a lot of documents and talked to many people about the procedures and system that existed in the Navy before the accident. Their main focus is to show that the system failure in the defense strongly contributed to the fact that the then 29-year-old man remained in a locked-in and incorrect understanding of the situation, says defender Christian Lundin. DEFENSE COUNSEL: Christian Lundin is the defense counsel for the accused warden. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB – The district court isolated our client’s actions. We will have the background illuminated better. It may provide an answer to why he did not get out of the erroneous understanding of the situation he had. New witness The strategy does not surprise the prosecution and state prosecutor Benedikte Høgseth. – This was a central topic in the district court as well. We do not share the assessment that the defendant is the victim of a system failure. All evidence must be brought up again in the new round in court. But less time will probably be spent on incidents where there is agreement about what has happened. The prosecution says they have largely used the same tactics as in the district court. PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE: State prosecutors Benedikte Høgseth and Magne Sylta are leading the case against the warden. Photo: Jon Bolstad / news Among the new witnesses that the defense has called to the Court of Appeal is a former security chief in the Swedish Navy and the doctor responsible for the training of the watch commander. The defense of the watch commander has also called in two researchers who have investigated accidents and near-accidents in the Navy. – The defendant made a misjudgment. They can help us understand why, says Lundin. Can’t get captain in the witness box Almost five years have passed since the frigate KNM Helge Ingstad collided with the tanker “Sola TS” at Stureterminalen in Hjeltefjorden in Vestland. In Hordaland district court, the minute before the collision was reviewed in detail. But there was one person the defense believes should have testified. Not even in the Court of Appeal can one hear from the captain of the oil tanker. – The actions of the other actors in the case are absolutely central to understanding why the warden acted as he did. The captain of “Sola TS” is responsible for what assessments and what planning was done on board there, says Lundin. TANKSHIP: The captain of “Sola TS” will not testify in the appeal case. Photo: Jan Kåre Ness State Attorney Høgseth believes it is not right to spend time trying to get the captain in the witness box. – Here we have had a process with the Court of Appeal. They agree with us that he is not central to the evidence. Lundin says that the decision has been made that the captain will not testify to intelligence, and believes that they will still find out what happened on the tanker on the night of the accident. Makes a strong impression on the Norwegian Navy The chief of duty on “Helge Ingstad” still works in the Norwegian Navy, but in a different position. The new head of the navy, Oliver Berdal, says the most important thing for them has been to take care of the watch commander and the others who were on board on the night of the accident. – The Helge Ingstad accident was, and still is, particularly serious for the Norwegian Navy. I hope we have learned so much from it that something like this can never happen again. Berdal says he does not want to comment on the case any more now that the appeal case has started. NEW CHIEF: Oliver Berdal is the new chief of the Norwegian Navy. Photo: Kystvakten/Forsvaret The Norwegian Navy received a corporate penalty of NOK 10 million for missing routines. They have also received sharp criticism from several parties after the collision. One in five Norwegian frigates was lost. The value was over NOK 4 billion. Heavy burden In the district court, a fellow judge dissented against the sentencing of the warden. In the Court of Appeal, the composition of judges is slightly different. There are two team judges here. In addition, there are two judges with a maritime background. Three of the total seven judges do not have a background in law, defense or shipping. Defense attorney Lundin says his client is looking forward to the appeal case in the Court of Appeal in Bergen. – This is a burden for him. At the same time, he looks forward to having a new opportunity to explain himself. He believes that he will manage the appeal case in the best way possible. According to the plan, the appeal case will last until 18 November.
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Will focus on system failures in the Norwegian Navy – news Vestland
