Second Officer Charged After Cargo Ship Nearly Crashes Into Norwegian Home
OSLO (Norway), May 27 — A dramatic maritime incident in the early hours of Thursday morning has led Norwegian prosecutors to charge the second officer of a cargo ship with negligent navigation, after the vessel he was navigating ran aground dangerously close to a residential home along the Trondheim Fjord.
The vessel, the NCL Salten, a container cargo ship operating under Norwegian flag, veered off course and grounded just before 6 a.m. local time. Authorities have since confirmed that the incident caused no injuries to the 16 crew members aboard, and no oil spills have been detected in the surrounding waters, averting what could have been a major environmental hazard.
While the ship’s grounding itself was alarming, what made headlines across Norway and beyond was how close the vessel came to a private home. Images taken from the scene show the red and green hull of the ship looming ominously just a few meters from a house situated on the rocky coastline of the fjord.
“I didn’t even hear it,” said Johan Helberg, the startled homeowner, in an interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK. “I only woke up when a neighbour rang my doorbell to ask if I was okay and to tell me that there was a ship outside my window.”
The vessel had drifted off its intended course under the watch of its second officer, who, according to investigators, had fallen asleep while on duty. Prosecutor Kjetil Bruland Sørensen stated that the officer, whose name has not been released to the public, was solely responsible for navigation at the time of the incident.
“Negligent navigation is a serious offense under maritime law,” Sørensen said in a statement released on Sunday. “There was a clear breach of duty, and the grounding posed a significant risk to human life, property, and the environment.”
While the second officer has not yet responded publicly to the charges, sources familiar with the investigation have indicated that he admitted to falling asleep while alone on the bridge, a critical failure in maritime protocol. Under international safety standards, such as those laid out in the STCW (Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers) convention, proper watchkeeping is mandatory and must be conducted without interruption, especially in sensitive coastal waters.
NCL, the shipping company that owns and operates the NCL Salten, issued a brief statement on Monday, confirming its cooperation with investigators and maritime safety authorities. “We are taking this matter very seriously,” the company said. “An internal investigation has also been launched to review what led to this incident and to ensure that all safety protocols were followed.”
The NCL Salten remains grounded, although efforts to remove it are ongoing. On Monday, salvage crews were working to lighten the vessel by unloading containers to facilitate its eventual removal. No timeline has yet been provided for when the ship might be refloated and escorted back to port for further inspection.
Maritime experts have noted that while groundings in the Norwegian fjords are relatively rare due to the country’s stringent maritime safety standards and navigation technologies, this incident underscores the continued importance of human vigilance in modern shipping.
“Technology has come a long way in helping reduce human error, but it hasn’t eliminated the human element,” said Erik Haldorsen, a retired captain and maritime safety consultant based in Bergen. “One person falling asleep can still put lives and homes at risk.”
Residents of the area are still processing the event, with many expressing shock over how narrowly a tragedy was avoided. Helberg, whose house now bears visible marks of the ship’s approach, said he is grateful the ship didn’t actually crash into his property.
“It’s surreal,” he told NRK. “When I looked outside and saw this massive ship just meters away, I couldn’t believe it. We were very lucky.”
Environmental authorities are monitoring the area closely, although initial assessments indicate that the vessel’s hull remains intact and no leakage of fuel or hazardous materials has occurred. The Norwegian Coastal Administration confirmed that booms had been placed around the ship as a precautionary measure, and divers have conducted underwater inspections.
While the incident has sparked widespread public interest, it also raises pressing questions about staffing and fatigue on commercial vessels. The issue of overworked crews and fatigue-related incidents has long been a concern in the maritime industry, and Norwegian authorities may now face pressure to re-evaluate enforcement of watchkeeping standards aboard coastal shipping vessels.
“This could have ended much worse,” Sørensen concluded. “We are fortunate this time, but we cannot allow such lapses to become normalized.”
As the NCL Salten awaits salvage and investigators continue to examine the ship’s data logs and communications leading up to the incident, both the public and the shipping industry are watching closely to see how the case unfolds — and what changes it might inspire.
