Sleeping man ignores container ship stranded on grass

Sleeping man ignores container ship stranded on grass

A Norwegian man in Byneset on the Trondheimfjord had a most unusual wake-up call: a huge container ship ran aground in front of his home while he was sound asleep. Johan Helberg was woken up on Thursday morning by his neighbor who asked him if he had noticed the boat outside. When Helberg looked out the door, he saw an incredible sight - a 135 meter long container ship was "parked" right in his front yard.

How the incident occurred

"If the ship had hit the rocky outcrop right next to it, it would have lifted and hit the house hard. It was only a few meters away," Helberg told TV2 Norway. His neighbor Jostein Jørgensen, who lives about 40 meters from the beach, was woken up around 5 a.m. by the sound of an approaching boat.

The dramatic minutes

“When I looked out the window, I saw a boat heading towards the coast at high speed,” Jørgensen told the local TV station. He immediately ran outside and started shouting to raise the alarm. The ship, the NCL Salten, got closer and closer and finally ran aground just eight meters from the wall of Helberg's house.

A happy turn of events

“He was lying there sleeping and was surprised to suddenly have a visitor,” Jørgensen told TV2. The ship was apparently on its way to Orkanger, at the southern end of the fjord, and had 16 people on board when it grounded.

Reactions of those responsible

Bente Hetland, managing director of the shipping company NCL, described the incident as a “serious incident” and expressed gratitude that no one was injured in the grounding. “At this time, we do not know what caused the incident and are awaiting the results of the ongoing investigation by the relevant authorities,” Hetland said in a statement. “We are currently assessing the damage to the ship.”

Rescue measures and further steps

A tug was initially sent to try to pull the ship free, but failed. On Thursday evening, a salvage company attempted to refloat the ship at high tide, but it was subsequently decided that this was not possible, the Norwegian Coastal Administration said. Geotechnical investigations are required before a new rescue attempt can be made.

Incident monitoring

Although there are no signs of an oil spill from the ship, the agency said an oil response vessel is on standby should the need arise.