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Oil tanker & Norwegian Navy frigate ‘collide’ off country’s coast, 7 reported injured Norwegian frigate collides with oil tanker off country’s coast, 8 injured (PHOTOS)
(about 5 hours later)
A rescue operation is underway after a Norwegian Navy frigate reportedly lost control and collided with an oil tanker off Norway’s coast. Seven people were injured, local media says. A Norwegian Navy frigate returning from a NATO exercise collided with an oil tanker off Norway’s coast. Eight people received light injuries in the incident while the warship started slowly sinking.
The early morning collision, which involved the frigate KNM Helge Ingstad and the tanker Sola TS, happened off Norway’s western coast near an island chain on which the municipality of Øygarden is located.
The vessels involved in the accident on Thursday morning were reportedly carrying around 160 people – 137 aboard the navy ship and 23 on the tanker. Those injured were among the oil tanker’s crew, local newspaper VG reported. Unlike the warship, the tanker, which carries around 625,000 barrels of crude, was mostly undamaged in the incident and no signs of an oil spill were reported. The ship was still ordered to return to port for inspection.
The frigate is believed to be the KNM Helge Ingstad, which took part in NATO’s massive Trident Juncture 2018 wargames. The collision occurred as the warship was heading back to its base, VG says, citing military spokesperson Vegard Finberg. READ MORE: ‘Making Norway less safe’: 50,000 troops engage in largest NATO drills in decades (VIDEOS)
The Navy quickly evacuated all the crew except for 10 essential staff members to prevent a possible fuel leak. The frigate, which reportedly received a long tear in the hull’s starboard side, started to take on water and listed dangerously. A tank of helicopter fuel was damaged and leaked some of its content, local media say. The crew of 137 was ordered to abandon ship, which was moved closer to land to prevent it from capsizing.
There were no reports of damage or leaks from the oil tanker, identified as Sola TS. The collision is believed to have happened when the vessel was leaving Sture Terminal, 50 kilometers northwest of Bergen, carrying 625,000 liters of crude oil.  The incident also triggered the shut-down of several oil industry sites in the vicinity, including a North Sea crude export terminal, Norway’s largest gas processing plant and several offshore fields.
The Trident Juncture 18 live drills concluded on November 7 in Norway. It was NATO’s largest exercise in decades, involving 50,000 troops, 10,000 combat vehicles, 65 vessels, and 250 aircraft. The next part – a command post exercise – will be held from November 14 to 24.  The KNM Helge Ingstad got into trouble while returning from the Trident Juncture 18 live drills, which concluded on November 7. It was NATO’s largest exercise in decades, involving 50,000 troops, 10,000 combat vehicles, 65 vessels, and 250 aircraft. The next part – a command post exercise – will be held from November 14 to 24.
 
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