A Norwegian resident, Johan Helberg, from Byneset near the Trondheim Fjord, experienced a bizarre incident when a 135-metre container ship, the NCL Salten, ran aground on his front lawn while he was asleep. Helberg was awoken by a neighbour, Jostein Jørgensen, who discovered the ship nearing the shore around 5 a.m. Upon investigating, Helberg was startled to see the massive vessel parked just eight metres from his house.
Jørgensen had heard the sound of the approaching ship and noticed its alarming speed as it approached their home. Fortunately, it narrowly missed crashing into the rocky outcrop nearby, which could have caused significant damage to Helberg’s house. He remarked on the close call, stating, “If the ship had hit the rocky outcrop right next to it, it would have lifted up and hit the house hard.”
The ship was on its way to Orkanger with 16 crew members aboard when the grounding occurred. Bente Hetland, the managing director of the shipping company, described the situation as “serious” but was relieved that there were no injuries. She confirmed that an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident, and the company is assessing the damage to the vessel.
Initial efforts to free the NCL Salten with a tugboat were unsuccessful. Later attempts to refloat the ship during high tide also failed, prompting the Norwegian Coastal Administration to call for geotechnical investigations before making another attempt. While there are currently no indications of oil leakage from the ship, an oil response vessel is on standby as a precautionary measure.
Overall, the extraordinary event of a container ship resting on a resident’s front lawn has raised safety concerns and sparked investigations into maritime navigation in the area.