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The Norwegian government's accident investigation committee is investigating the incident and the United States has been informed that the US sailor could be part of this investigation. The seafarer has not been identified and his exact role on the ship is unknown.
KNM Helge Ingstad was caught in a big hole when he collided with a tanker registered in Malta, Sola TS, in the early hours of 8 November.
The frigate, one of the five naval forces of the Scandinavian country, was moving into the fjords of western Norway to undergo a sailing training before colliding with the oil tanker of 250 meters long (820 ft) coming out of an oil terminal.
While the military team reportedly drove the ship on submarine rocks to prevent it from sinking, the tanker emerged relatively unscathed.
But efforts to move the 5,500-ton warship to a safe place were disastrous this week after cables were attached to keep it in place.
Now, all that remains above the waterline is the antennas and radars of the frigate, which has led the local media to speculate about the capacity of a ship designed for the war of 39, avoid a slow tanker of 150,000 tons.
AnnKristin Salbuvik, spokesman for the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, said that the US exchange agent was aboard Helge Ingstad as part of a program of exchange between the navies from both countries.
Cdr. Kyle Raines, of the US Navy's 6th Fleet, said in a statement: "An officer is assigned to the Personnel Exchange Program (PEP) with Norway within the KNM Helge Ingstad crew. .
"For reasons of confidentiality, we are not authorized to identify this officer by name."
The Washington Post first reported that the sailor could be questioned.
Avoidable errors
The Norwegian army remains silent on the situation, which injured eight of the 137 people on board. Torill Herland, Navy Communications Officer, told CNN that everything that happened at the accident near Bergen was now "police work".
A joint Norwegian-Maltese investigation is also under way to try to determine the cause.
According to Alex Pape, editor-in-chief of Jane's Fighting Ships, similar cases involving US Navy destroyers over the past two years have been attributed to avoidable mistakes, but it is too early to speculate on this incident .
"Warships, especially surface combatants like frigates, are usually designed to withstand a degree of combat damage," CNN told Pape.
"However, even for well-protected warships, they suffer sufficient damage, especially in adjacent compartments and below the waterline, resulting floods may be too great for pumps and / or the crew's damage control efforts, and the vessel will indicate, capsize or sink.
According to Mr. Pape, this incident suggests that in addition to a large visible hole torn to starboard, the hull near or below the waterline suffered significant damage, which then quickly flooded the rear compartments of the ship. ship.
Heavy chains
The attempt to rescue the frigate certainly raised eyebrows.
Jan Vindenes is the managing director of Sotra Anchor & Chain, whose products have been used in many shipwreck reconstructions, including that of Costa Concordia – the cruising ship that crashed into the rocks off Italian shores in 2012, leaving 32 dead on board. . He thinks chains could have been used to secure the frigate.
"They used cables to secure the frigate, but unfortunately they broke, we say that this chain is stronger and better than the cables."
"We have a chain that can hold 2,000 tonnes, and our channel was used to raise the Costa Concordia, which was much bigger than this frigate," he added.
An expensive crash
Since the frigate is one of only five operations in the Norwegian navy, its loss will likely have consequences for both domestic and NATO operations. But the country's military will have to carefully consider the cost of its recovery and repair for active service.
Pope told CNN: "Curiously, if the ship is not repaired, the reduction of a vessel that needs to be serviced, improved, flown and used during the 20 years of her remaining life will mean that the cost for the navy could fall in the coming years … long term, but with a loss of capacity. "
Pope estimates that a decision to recover it, repair it and put it back into service would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. "The total cost could be similar to the cost of a new vessel."
The financial impact of the crash should be felt far beyond the military, insofar as it has resulted in the closure of a crude oil export terminal. in the North Sea, Norway's largest gas processing plant and several offshore fields.
In total, these five oil and gas fields produce approximately NKr 400 million ($ 48 million) per day, or SEK 17 million ($ 2 million) per hour. Oil companies paying 78% of taxes to the state for production, the two-day shutdown ultimately resulted in a substantial economic loss for the country, reported the national broadcaster NRK.
Fortunately, the tanker – which was carrying nearly 100 million liters of oil – was not seriously damaged during the accident. The Norwegian Coastal Administration said it had cleaned up some of the diesel and helicopter fuel spilled during the incident, but that has been largely controlled, according to Truls Gulowsen, director of Greenpeace in Norway.
"A major leak would have been an incredible environmental disaster that could easily have touched most of Norway's west coast," Gulowsen told CNN.
The accident resulted in a diesel leak and 10,000 liters of helicopter fuel, which was largely confined and recovered, he said.
Gulowsen, however, added that "the situation is not yet stable and the boat is still under water." The frigate had an additional 385,000 liters of marine diesel, but that did not sink "
Admiral Nils Andreas Stensones, Chief of Staff of the Army, is currently looking into ways of relieving the ship.
"It is very difficult for a navy to lose a ship," he told AFP.
