Baltic Feeder Ship Runs Aground Feet from Norwegian’s Bedroom
A Baltic feeder containership maneuvering in the fjord near Trondheim, Norway grounded on Thursday morning, May 21, ending up just feet from a resident’s home. The authorities are reporting no one on the ship (or shore) was injured and so far, there have been no oil spills reported but resident Johan Helberg has a ship on his coastline.
The NCL Salten (11,135 dwt) owned by Baltnautic, and chartered by North Sea Container Line, was sailing for the port of Orkanger at 0500 local time when the vessel appeared to miss a turn in the waterway and continued toward shore and grounded. A neighbor witnessed the grounding reporting that it was “a soft landing.” He ran to his neighbor’s home and awakened the sleeping resident Johan Helberg. He later told Norwegian TV that if the vessel was 15 feet to the right it would have ended up in his bedroom. Helberg said he was sleeping about seven meters (23 feet) from where the bow came to rest.
After one attempt to refloat the 439-foot (134-meter) containership, the Norwegian authorities reported the vessel’s operator had retained a tug to aid with the effort. They were conducting a ground survey which delayed a planned attempt to refloat the ship at high tide Thursday night. The NCL Salten remains grounded in Byneset, Norway west of Trondheim with the Norwegian Coastal Administration saying the survey and analysis to determine if "special considerations need to be taken when the ship is to be pulled off," is expected to take "some time."
????????From the world of curiosities ????
— Peacemaker (@peacemaket71) May 22, 2025
A Norwegian overslept the arrival of a 135-meter cargo ship that parked at his house
The cargo ship NCL SALTEN lost course at night, missed a shoal west of Trondheim and ran its bow onto the coast. For a long time, neighbors could not find… pic.twitter.com/CF8x4eYcnJ
The police told the news outlet VG that they had conducted a breath test for the crewmember on the bridge and there was no suspicion of intoxication. The police have collected the vessel’s documents and log but said a more detailed investigation would wait till the ship is refloated.
Reports indicate that the weather was good and at this time of the year, 0500 is already daylight in Norway. The Norwegian Coastal Administration is monitoring the situation and reports the oil spill response vessel OV Hekkingen is standing by and the Coast Guard vessel KV Njord is en route to the scene.
“This is a serious incident, and we are grateful that nobody was injured in the grounding,” said NCL’s Managing Director Bente Hetland. “We are currently assessing the damage to the ship and have initiated an internal investigation into the root causes of the incident.”
(Trondheim Rescue Company)
Built in 2002, the vessel is registered in Cyprus and operates a Norwegian coastal route with connections to Bremerhaven and Rotterdam. It has a capacity of 886 TEU. The crew numbers 16 and is reported to consist of Norwegians, Russians, and Ukrainians.
VG is reporting the ship has been involved in four incidents in less than three years. The newspaper is saying the ship ran aground in Tømmervika in October 2023 but was able to free itself. In April 2024, it made contact with a pier while maneuvering in Alesund and had a six-meter (16-foot) gash in its hull. In January 2023 the ship was stranded at sea for five hours while the crew replaced a fuel pipe.