Container ship NCL Salten” runs aground – salvage takes days!

Container ship NCL Salten” runs aground – salvage takes days!

A serious incident occurred in the Trondheimfjord near Byneset, Norway, when the 135-meter-long container ship “NCL Salten” ran aground early Thursday morning, May 22, 2025. The cause of the accident is linked to the person responsible on the ship's bridge, who apparently fell asleep during his shift. Fortunately, no injuries were reported and the adjacent residential building remained largely undamaged, apart from a broken heat pump pipe.

Salvaging the ship is expected to take several days. According to the latest reports from the Norwegian Salvage Authority, the salvage of the cargo is scheduled to begin early next Sunday. The recovery of the ship will take well into next week. Initial investigation results indicate that the ship passed a few meters past the home of Johan Helberg, who was sleeping in his bed at the time. He was woken up by his neighbor Jostein Jörgensen, who heard the noise around 5 a.m.

Damage and reactions

According to initial estimates, no major damage was caused. The ship's bow rammed the shoreline, but without fear of an oil spill. The shipping company NCL, represented by spokeswoman Bente Hetland, expressed the desire to find out the exact circumstances of the incident and plans to tow the ship back to deeper waters at the next high tide.

In this context, it is worth noting that the Norwegian Maritime Authority has recorded an increase in incidents involving commercial vessels over the past year. A total of 1,154 incidents were recorded in 2024, representing an increase of around six percent compared to the previous year. Most of these incidents involved cargo ships, accounting for 50% of recorded accidents. This casts a shadow over the security situation in commercial maritime, yet there was a decrease in deaths on board commercial vessels in 2024 compared to 2023.

Vegar Berntsen, Head of Department for Risk Management and Analysis, informed that there have been a significant number of accidents in recent years, with an average of 565 incidents between 2020 and 2024. Although a turnaround can be seen here, safety on Norway's waters remains a challenge that continues to require attention.

The recovery work and subsequent investigation into this incident could take several more days until shipping in the region returns to normal. Commercial maritime incidents are often complex and require in-depth investigations to prevent future accidents.

Further information on this incident and the development of the salvage work will be communicated by the authorities and the shipping company in the future.

Read more about the background and details of the incident Vienna.at, Tagesschau.de and Safety4Sea.com.