Havarikommissionen: The frigate was not as tight as expected

Defense chief Haakon Bruun-Hanssen warned not to draw harsh conclusions about the merchant navy after the Havarik commission presented a preliminary report on Thursday.

One of the main conclusions of the report was that the watertight bulkheads of the frigate were not waterproof anyway. The Commission considers this finding to be a critical finding for safety and a very serious deficiency, which is probably equally valid for all other Nansen-class frigates.

The chief of defense, Haakon Bruun-Hanssen, said that they took seriously what the hearing committee had presented, but pointed out that it was "difficult". a preliminary report, and not a final conclusion.

"We have to make sure to draw solid conclusions about what happened," Bruun-Hanssen said.

The second main conclusion of the Havarikommission was that the crew of the KNM Helge Ingstad frigate had first thought that the TS Sola light was coming from the Sturme terminal. So, they thought that it was not possible to pass the starboard for the object.

Dialogue with Spanish shipyards

The defense commander stated that he had adopted temporary measures for all frigates following the critical findings.

"We have taken temporary measures to address this issue so that ships can navigate, we are talking to Defense Materials and the Spanish shipbuilder Navantia to find permanent solutions, so it should not be a security challenge for the ship. 'future,' said Bruun-Hanssen.

– How will the navy hold the manufacturer accountable for these critical safety conditions?

"It is too early to talk about it, first we need to determine what the permanent solution will be, and then we need to come back to the responsibilities that manufacturers will have when we get a glimpse of them," said Nils Andreas Stensønes.

– How will a cure affect our ability to defend?

– If more ships are to be decommissioned, we will weaken our defense capabilities. We dialogue with manufacturers and professional authorities to find a permanent solution. We have no basis today to say that it is so serious that we have to put the ships out of order. And then we hope it will vote as we deepen what has happened, "said Bruun-Hanssen.

Come surprise for the Helge Ingstad Bridge

Kristian Haugnes of the Norwegian Civil Aviation Commission for the Armed Forces informed Aftenposten that the water intrusion on KNM Helge Ingstad occurred for the first time in the back hall of the generator, before the water spills into the trunk and finally into the engine room.

It is clear that the water intake beyond that which had to be watertight pulled through cavities around the sheath.

– The water penetration climbing occurred quickly and unexpectedly, and in a surprising way for those who were on the bridge. This affected the decisions they made, says Haugnes.

Navy Chief Nils Andreas Stensønes said that there was a weakness that caused the spread of water in the room.

"Further research will show how crucial it was for the boat to sink," says Stensønes.

Should have been operational

The boat was too soon filled with water and its stability was very poor during the accident.

– The construction of the vessel should have been such that the ship was still operational after damage such as Helge Ingstad. Why not, is one of the interesting topics that the commission of inquiry on the accidents will wait with interest, declares the director of the department, Dag S. Liseth in the Havarikommission.

He calls the water fast intrusion on the design error warship.

"But we also need to determine if the ship was damaged at the time of the grounding," says Liseth.