Man steering Norway ship that crashed into a garden was asleep, police say

The watch officer of a huge container ship that ran aground and crashed into a garden in Norway has told police he was asleep at the time of the incident.

Investigators said the man, a Ukrainian national in his thirties, admitted to falling asleep while on duty on his own.

He has been charged with negligent navigation and police are also investigating whether rules regarding working and rest hours were adhered to on board the vessel.

The 135m-ship (443ft) missed a house by metres when it ran aground on Thursday morning in Byneset, near Trondheim, central Norway. Efforts to refloat it have been unsuccessful so far.

“The individual charged was the officer on watch at the time of the incident,” the prosecutor in Trondelag Police District said in a press statement.

“During questioning, he stated that he fell asleep while on duty alone, which led to the vessel running aground,” he added.

No one was injured in the incident.

The Cypriot-flagged cargo ship, the NCL Salten, had 16 people on board and was travelling south-west through the Trondheim Fjord to Orkanger when it veered off course.

Johan Helberg, who owns the property, described the moment he looked out of his window and saw the ship in his front garden.

“I had to bend my neck to see the top of it. It was so unreal,” he said in an interview with the Guardian.

He was alerted to the commotion by a panicked neighbour who heard the sound of the ship and watched as it headed straight for shore.

“Five metres further south and it would have entered the bedroom,” Mr Helberg told the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

According to reports, the ship had previously run aground in 2023 but crew managed to free it using its own power.