The report of the Hearing Panel reports new findings: – The crew thought they communicated with one of the three northerners he followed on radar.

It's been three weeks since the KNM Helge Ingstad frigate collided with the Sola TS tanker at 04:01. On Thursday, November 29, the National Accident Investigation Bureau (SHT) released a report on the marine accident. The report communicates the information obtained during the initial investigation and provides a preliminary description of the course of events.

On Thursday, 8 November, the KHM Helge Ingstad frigate sailed south into the waters north of Bergen. As usual on a transit road, there was a training in navigation.

During southbound navigation, with a speed of 17 to 18 knots, KNM Helge Ingstad's AIS was set to "receiver mode", which meant only the receipt and not the transmission of personal data. The ship's lanterns were lit and the ship was visible on the radar. Ingstad created the VHF channel 80 watch, which is the operating frequency of the traffic center for the region.

Rided with bridge lights

The night was clear when KNM Helge Ingstad sailed south to Hjeltefjorden, and the lights in the Stureterminal Room would have been visible over long distances. When the terminal became visible to KNM Helge Ingstad, Sola TS was on the terminal platform.

Since the crew on board the tanker prepared for departure, the Sola TS bridge was considerably lit up. In the distance, it would have been difficult to distinguish the lights of the ship from the lights of the terminal. There was no movement in the fires as the tanker was still on the platform.

According to this information, the KNM crew Helge Ingstad very early contributed to the impression that the lights belonged to a stationary object.

Sola sailed with the light of the tires on after leaving Sture. It could have helped KNM Helge Ingstad not to see the lanterns.

The use of deck lights by the tanker may have led to the frigate and not to the navigation nights after the tanker's departure.

"Just after the shift at 4 pm, the crew still sees that the Sola TS is motionless, they think they can not swing to starboard as they have to get around this object." They also had three ships heading North to take into account, said Ingvild K. Ytrehus, head of academic staff at the Havarikommission, during a press conference Thursday morning.

– Understand the misunderstanding

"A tank truck with full tire headlights travels on a collision course with a petrol terminal heavily lit in the background, which makes it move like a ship thoroughly, I understand that". such a misunderstanding may occur, "said former independent chief Jacob Børresen.

Børresen's first reaction when he heard the news was sadness.

"And then I wondered how many others could happen," he says.

In addition to the fact that the AIS was set to "receiver mode", Børresen seems to be the correspondent via VHF.

– This has not been executed correctly. You must always indicate the vessel you are driving at the beginning of a VHF call.

Before the operator starts sending, he must listen to the channel to make sure the broadcast will not interfere with the current correspondence. If it appears that the broadcast still interferes with an ongoing radio shipment, the operator must immediately terminate the request of one of the radio stations.

– The preliminary report does not justify the responsibility of the collision, but it indicates that three parties are involved, the frigate, the tanker and the traffic control center of Fedje. Among the questions that remain unanswered, there is the reason why Fedje did not intervene earlier and more resolutely to prevent the situation that ultimately caused the collapse of the frigate and the tanker, "Børresen said.

Misunderstood communication

After being moved to the bridge at around 3:45, that is the situation of KNM Helge Ingstad, who understood that the lights belonged to a stationary object, was the base. Although Sola TS left the wharf at about that time, the fires only moved relatively as the tanker moved from south to north, the paper said.

The use of deck lights by the ship after departure brought the crew of KNM Helge Ingstad and not the Sola TS navigation helicopters. When KNM Helge Ingstad reported at 4 pm that he could not swing to starboard, this was based on a lingering perception that the lights they saw were still and that a starboard rotation would lead them directly to the illuminated object.

They also believed they communicated with one of the three northern ships that they followed on the radar. Helge Ingstad, KNM member, realized that they were following a collision course and that it was impossible to avoid the collision.

The preliminary analysis of the Havarikommission is that no single action or incident has led to the accident, but that the accident can be explained by a number of factors and complex circumstances. The investigation team tries to discover and understand these factors. The Havarikommission currently has no indication that the technical systems did not function as a precondition to the collision.