Helge Ingstad trial starts

[ombugge]

Norway Naval Officer Goes On Trial Over Oil Tanker Collision

The Norwegian Navy is not throwing the accused Watch Commander (OOW) under a bus.
From Norwegian “TV2 News” yesterday:

The Ingstad watch commander still works on a frigate: - A very capable officer

The trial starts on Monday after one of the most expensive accidents in Norwegian history. The head of the Norwegian Navy says they are keen to take care of the 33-year-old, who is the only defendant in the case.

Article in Norwegian: Ingstad-vaktsjefen jobber fortsatt på fregatt: - En meget dyktig offiser

[ombugge]

From NRK.no today:

Defendant in the Helge Ingstad case on inspection: - Good to have support from colleagues

The court dealing with the Helge Ingstad case got to see what it’s like on board a frigate on Tuesday. The defendant says he received good support from his colleagues there:

SHOWN THE BRIDGE: Christoffer Brekke, who is the watch commander at KNM “Roald Amundsen”, explains to the court about routines on the bridge of a frigate. The court is on Tuesday inspecting the frigate, which is docked at Haakonsvern in Bergen. The defendant was on board, but is not in the picture. PHOTO: GEIR OLSEN / NTB / POOL / NTB

THE COURT: Ship commander Lars Larsson (left) and watch commander Christoffer Brekke on KNM “Roald Amundsen”, explain to the court about routines on the bridge of a frigate. District court judge Kristin Farstad in the center on the right. PHOTO: GEIR OLSEN / POOL / NTB

Source:

«Helge Ingstad»-rettssaken: – En belastning for vaktsjefen å være med retten...

[Heiwa]

Yes, I remember this case. Plenty people on the HI bridge were watching, while the foc’sle of the tanker ripped open the HI deck house/superstructure side above main deck. Then a fracture in the side shell aft developed below waterline and one watertight compartment was flooded. The “watertight” doors in the bulkheads were open and nobody closed them, so multiple compartments forward were flooded and the ship lost stability and grounded … and partly sank … CTL. The incident could have been prevented by closing all watertight doors in the hull of Norwegian warships at sea, at least in congested waters. Or much better - do not fit any doors in hull bulkheads at all - and use ladders up/down to the main deck to move from one hull compartment to another. It keeps you in shape.

[Ladder]

A video of the collision has appeared on online

r/CatastrophicFailure - Norwegian warship "Helge Ingstad" navigating by sight...

[Ladder]

Interesting comments on that page, one saying that the incidence create misogyny because all the officers on the Helge Ingstad bridge were female. I hadn’t heard that before, the identities of the people involved have not been revealed.

[ombugge]

They were not, but a female American officer was under training as future Watch Commander. She was training on “sailing on sight only” while under supervision by the (male) Watch Commander that is now the accused in the ongoing court case.

PS> There were some other females on the bridge, as well as males (They will all be called as witnesses)

[ombugge]

I found a list of those on the bridge at the time in a report about yesterdays hearing:

This was the crew on the bridge when the collision occurred
The bridge at Helge Ingstad:

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 Officer : Male (33). Was 29 years old and was approved as a DO 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”.
• DO 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.
• DO’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.
• DO’s assistant under 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 : Woman (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 : Male (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 DO under training witnessed by video link from San Diego:

The trainee, who is now 33 years old and works on a vessel in the US Navy, confirmed that on the night of the accident she had training where the aim was to navigate as much as possible with her own sight, rather than using aids such as radar.

• It was primarily a visual exercise, with a focus on optical bearings. It was more than studying radar that was important, prosecutor Sylta quoted from one of the police interviews.
• Yes, it was tailored to what I was going to learn and where I was in my training course, she herself added in court

She also said that she was given routes to sail which were suited to her level of experience and that it was the now defendant watch commander who decided which routes she was to sail.

Source: «Helge Ingstad»-rettssaka: Amerikansk offiser gjekk i sjokk og måtte fjernast frå brua – NRK Vestland

Today the Commander on H.I. at the time has been the main witness. (Reverting)

PS> Hjeltefjorden is among the longest stretches on one course along the entire inshore route from Stavanger to North Cape. It is protected, relatively wide and deep with no obstructions.

[ombugge]

The court case against the watch commander on Helge Ingstad has been completed.
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:

Aktor ber om 120 dagers betinget fengsel for vaktsjefen på KNM «Helge Ingstad»

The prosecution requested that the accused warden be sentenced to 120 days conditional imprisonment, with a probationary period of two years.

The defense held their closing argument today:

Forsvarer krever full frifinnelse av vaktsjefen på KNM «Helge Ingstad»

Defense demands a full acquittal of the warden at "Helge Ingstad.

Just one of many barriers

They believe that what the defendant did was only partially to blame for the accident.

• Everything failed simultaneously, at the same time, said defender Christian Lundin in his proceedings.
  He believes that others on the bridge, the traffic controller at Fedje VTS, the bridge at Sola TS and systems in the Navy and at Fedje VTS also made mistakes.
• The defendant is just one of several security barriers, said Lundin.

[Heiwa]

So a “vaktsjef” - was sentenced while the commanding officer and his second got free. ROTFL!

[ombugge]

Norwegian sailor sentenced in tanker collision case  - Splash247

More detailed report at NRK.no (In Norwegian):

KNM «Helge Ingstad»-ulykken: Vaktsjefen dømt til 60 dagers betinget fengsel

Chief of the Norwegian Navy does not agree with the conclusion that on ONE person was responsible for the accident:

The Chief of the Navy believes that it does not help maritime safety if one person is punished after the “Helge Ingstad” accident.
The Chief of the Navy joins the ranks of military personnel who support the watch commander. Previously, both the ship’s commander on the “Helge Ingstad”, several crew members on board and the union have spoken along the same lines.

Source: Sjøforsvarssjefen mener at systemfeil gjorde at «Helge Ingstad»-vaktsjefen gjorde feil – NRK Vestland

Statement by the Commander on board Helge Ingstad at the time:

"It’s all my responsibility

It is the 33-year-old duty officer who alone is accused of causing the collision with “Sola TS” and thus putting many lives at risk.
“I just want to say this loudly and clearly: I’m responsible for everything that happens on that boat,” the ship’s commander said in the direction of Judges in the courtroom.

Source: “Helge Ingstad” trial: “Everything that happens on the boat is my responsibility,” says Preben Ottesen, commander of the ship – NRK Vestland

Note: Both the Duty Officer and the Commander are still serving in the Navy:

Navy chief on convicted watch commander: “Will be able to continue his service.”

SJefen for the Navy, Rune Andersen.
The Chief of the Navy, Rune Andersen, writes in an e-mail to TV 2 that they take note of the verdict against the former duty chief at Helge Ingstad.
The 33-year-old was sentenced to 60 days suspended imprisonment on Monday.

“The accident was serious and lives could have been lost. The Navy has long acknowledged the systemic flaws uncovered through the investigations and enacted a corporate penalty. Throughout the trial, several members of the Navy have testified about their responsibilities and I do not wish in any way to downplay the Navy’s responsibility for the causal links that have been demonstrated,” Andersen wrote.

He also writes that after the accident, the Navy will continue to have full focus on safety work, to prevent such an incident from happening again.
“The Navy has also prioritized looking after those affected by the dramatic incident, and especially the watch commander who has been in a stressful situation. He has been serving on one of our frigates since the accident and will be able to continue his service regardless of this verdict.”

Source: Navy chief on convicted watch commander: – Will be able to continue his service - TV 2

[Urs]

Strange all this…
Is this a sentence by a normal civilian court, a military court or some sea accident court?

[ombugge]

It is a civilian court:

The place of district courts in the judicial system

The legal system in Norway has three levels of court:

• District court
• Court of Appeal
• Supreme court
  It is usually said that the district court is the court of first instance. Decisions at one level can be appealed to the next level, but an appeal does not mean that the case is automatically tried for a new level. There are separate rules for appeals in civil cases and appeals in criminal cases.

Source: District Court – Store norske leksikon (snl.no)