Deep sleeper Norwegian wakes up to 135-meter-long ship in garden
What's the story
A 135-meter-long container ship, the NCL Salten, crashed into Johan Helberg's front garden in Byneset, near Trondheim, Norway, on Thursday morning. The incident took place around 5:00am local time (03:00 GMT) as the ship was entering the Trondheim Fjord en route to Orkanger. Helberg was asleep during the incident and was only alerted by a neighbor who witnessed the crash. "I didn't hear anything," he told Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.
Close call
Helberg's narrow escape and ongoing investigation
The ship came within five or six yards of Helberg's bedroom, missing his home by mere meters. "I had to bend my neck to see the top of it. It was so unreal," he told The Guardian. Police are looking into several theories, including technical failure or human error, but no one is suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash. Norwegian police have identified one crew member as a suspect.
Company response
Shipping company expresses relief, plans investigation
Bente Hetland, CEO of North Sea Container Line (NCL), expressed relief that no injuries occurred and emphasized their focus on the safety of people near the ship and crew. She called the incident a "serious event" but said there was "no reason to believe this was intentional." The ship remained stuck aground on Thursday after the initial attempt to remove it failed. They decided to try again in the evening at high tide.
Past incident
Ship's previous grounding and ongoing investigation
The Cypriot-flagged cargo ship was carrying 16 crew members from various countries, including Norway, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Russia. It was traveling south-west through the Trondheim Fjord to Orkanger when it went off course. The NCL Salten had previously run aground in 2023 but was freed on its own. No one was injured in the incident.