The NCL Salten, which grounded at Byneset near Trondheim on Thursday 22 May, has been pulled off ground on Tuesday morning in the ongoing salvage operation. After being refloated, divers inspected the ship before being towed to the Port of Orkanger to unload the rest of the containers on board.
The salvage operation was led by Wesmans on behalf of the insurance companies and the ship’s owner, in close cooperation with BOA, the Norwegian Coastal Administration and others. In port the ship will be more thoroughly examined for damage.
In statement, North Sea Container Lines (NCL), which charters the ship, says: ‘We are relieved and happy that the salvage operation of the ship itself has gone so well, without complications or further damage to neither the ship nor the environment. We want to thank everyone involved and are grateful for the good cooperation with everyone who has led and contributed to the operation.’
Also read: NCL Salten still grounded in Norway
NCL Salten grounding
The NCL Salten grounded near Trondheim at around 5 am on 22 May. The vessel was en route northbound with container freight when the incident occurred. The incident took place during a journey from Averøy, and the ship was expected to dock in Orkanger on Thursday morning before continuing to Northern Norway and later returning along the Norwegian coast to Bremerhaven.
The ship ended up very close to a house on the shore. Following the grounding, there were two local landslides, and residents living near the grounded ship had to be evacuated.
No-one was injured in the accident, however, and the sixteen crew have been on board since the grounding, to secure the ship, and assisted during the salvage operation.
Salvage operation
Salvage operations commenced in the morning on Saturday 24 May following expert assessments of the ship and the ground.
The insurance companies and the shipping line appointed Wesmans to lead the salvage operation, which was carried out in close cooperation with the Norwegian Coastal Administration and others. The crew aboard the ship assisted in securing the vessel and unloading cargo to lighten the ship’s weight.
The ship was pulled off ground at around 10:30 CET, Tuesday 27 May. The Norwegian Coast Guard released a video of the ship being pulled free:
Officer of the watch asleep during grounding
Norwegian police have launched an investigation into the accident, and one individual has now been formally charged with negligent navigation under Section 14 of the Ship Safety and Security Act. The accused is a Ukrainian man in his thirties who was serving as Second Officer on board during the voyage in question.
‘The individual charged was the officer on watch at the time of the incident. During questioning, he stated that he fell asleep while on duty alone, which led to the vessel running aground,’ says Kjetil Bruland Sørensen, the prosecutor in Trøndelag Police District.
NCL Salten
NCL has chartered NCL Salten on a time-charter contract, and the ship is owned by Waterway Shipping Ltd. and operated by Baltnautic Shipmanagement UAB. The vessel sails under the Cypriot flag. The ship is a 134-metre-long container vessel, built in 2002 with the capacity to carry 886 containers (TEU). The vessel has IMO number 9252773.
The most recent class inspection of the vessel’s condition and onboard safety culture was conducted in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in January 2025.
Picture (top): NCL Salten aground (photo by The Norwegian Coast Guard).
