The Norwegian navy frigate, KNM Helge Ingstad, was returning from NATO exercises when it was in a collision with a Maltese flag, Aframax tanker, Sola TS, in the Hjeltefjord near Bergen, Norway. The tanker was not seriously damaged while the frigate suffered major flooding and was intentionally grounded to avoid the possibility of sinking. Eight people on the KNM Helge Instad suffered minor injuries, although only two were taken to a hospital. All 137 crew of the frigate were evacuated. There were no reports of injuries among the 23 of the tanker’s crew.

The BBC reports that the collision took place at 4AM local time on Thursday, as the frigate was sailing the inner fjords for training, according to Norwegian officials. The tanker had departed Equinor’s Sture oil terminal with a cargo of North Sea crude. 

No oil was spilled from the tanker, while 10,000 liters of light distillate was spilled by the frigate.

The Sture terminal, a major tanker port through which almost 25% of Norway’s oil production moves, was shut down following the collision but resumed operations on Thursday afternoon.

KNM Helge Ingstad is one of five 5,290 tonne Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates built in Spain for the Royal Norwegian Navy. Built in Spain, the Helge Ingstad was commissioned in 2009.

Sola TS is a 113,000 DWT Maltese flag tanker built in 2017.

BREAKING! Norwegian navy frigate-collides with oil tanker in fjord

Thanks to Phil Leon for contributing to this post.