Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The KNM Helge Ingstad takes in water amid fears that it might sink

Norway has evacuated all 137 crew from one of its warships after it collided in a fjord with a Maltese oil tanker.

Eight people were lightly injured in the collision in the Hjeltefjord near Bergen. The KNM Helge Ingstad frigate has been listing dangerously.

The warship had been returning from Nato military exercises. The tanker, the Sola TS, was slightly damaged and it appears that it did not spill oil.

The incident led to the shutdown of a major oil terminal and a gas plant.

What is known about Thursday's incident?

The two vessels collided at about 04:00 local time (03:00 GMT) as the frigate was sailing inner fjords for training, officials say.

The tanker had already left Equinor's Sture oil terminal with a cargo of North Sea crude, Reuters news agency reports.

Image copyright EPA Image caption The Norwegian frigate (right) joined a Belgian warship and other Nato vessels for exercises last month

"Due to the damage to the frigate it was moved to a safe place," Nato's Allied Maritime Command said in a statement.

The tanker, which has a crew of 23, returned to port for inspection.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the collision.

What about economic damage?

The Sture export oil terminal, as well as the Kollsnes gas plant and several offshore oilfields, were shut down as a precaution but resumed operation on Thursday afternoon, Equinor said in a statement.

The Sture terminal is a major tanker port, with almost 25% of Norway's oil production passing through the facility.

Meanwhile, the Kollsnes plant processes gas from several fields for a number of European countries, including the UK.

It was not immediately known how the temporary closure of the facilities would impact on wholesale gas prices.

An unnamed official told AFP news agency that a "small oil slick" had been detected from the frigate.

"It took on a lot of water and there is a real danger that it sinks where it is," the official said.</s>A Norwegian Navy warship was rammed by an oil tanker while it was docked in a harbour on the country's west coast, injuring eight crew members.

Sola TS tanker crashed into Helge Ingstad, tearing a large hole in its side, near the Sture terminal in Oygarden at around 4 a.m (0300GMT) on Thursday.

The frigate's 137 crew members were evacuated amid fears that the warship may sink.

Andreas Stensoenes, Head of the Royal Norwegian Navy, said: "Helge Ingstad took in water after the collision, lost control and then drifted aground."

"The crew were evacuated when it was evaluated that the vessel was unstable."

"The eight crew members who are reported injured have been taken into medical care."

The Sola TS did not spill oil, it appears, but the collision forced the shutdown of a North Sea crude export terminal and Norway's largest gas processing plant, as well as a number of offshore fields.

The frigate had recently taken part in a NATO exercise.

The Norwegian military is investigating the incident.</s>A Norwegian navy frigate and an oil tanker from Malta collided in Øygarden in western Norway. Seven people were injured.

Returning from Nato’s Trident Juncture exercise, KNM Helge Ingstad frigate collided with the Sola TS oil tanker, Norwegian Royal Army confirmed.

A total of 137 people were on board the frigate while 23 were on the tanker. The oil tanker received only slight damage, while the frigate has been seriously damaged.

A small oil slick from the frigate has been detected but nothing large,” the official added.

Built in 2009, the KNM Helge Ingstad participated in chemical disarmament operations in Syria between December 2013 and May 2014.</s>Eight people have been injured in a collision between Norwegian warship KNM Helge Ingstad and a Maltese oil tanker. All 137 of the ship’s crew have been evacuated.

The Helge Ingstad was returning from the NATO Trident Juncture 18 exercises when it collided with the Maltese oil tanker Sola–which is reportedly undamaged and resuming its route from Norway to a terminal in northeast England, according to the website Marine Traffic.

Norwegian newspaper Aldrimer reports that the oil tanker and maritime traffic authorities repeatedly radioed warnings to the frigate that they were on a collision path, but the Helge Ingstad’s captain said it had control. Shortly thereafter, the warship drove into the oil tanker with great force in the Hjeltefjord near Bergen.

The frigate lost power and control after the crash Sola, and the ship was pushed by tugboats into shallow water where it can’t fully sink. Both Norway’s Accident Investigation Board and Malta’s Marine Safety Investigation Unit will investigate the collision, as the tanker was registered in Malta.

The Equinor Sture oil shipment terminal, from which the oil tanker left fully loaded, was closed as a precautionary measure but reopened Thursday. The state-controlled terminal is the loading point for about 15% of the country’s crude. Total, Shell and ExxonMobil were all due to take on loads there in the next few days, according to the November loading programs seen by Platts.

The Trident Juncture 18 event are the biggest NATO exercises since the Cold War in the 1980s.</s>One of the biggest warships in the Norwegian navy was warned repeatedly it was on a collision course with a Britain-bound oil tanker before the two vessels smashed into each other, it has been claimed.

Crew on board the KNM Helge Instad, part of a NATO fleet in the Atlantic, insisted they 'had control' before smashing into Sola TS in Sture, north of Bergen, Norway.

The frigate had received alerts from the tanker and from the Coastal Maritime Traffic Center Fedje VTS, sources have told the Norwegian news website Aldrimer. But ship management are said to have responded: 'We are in control' in the run-up to the crash.

Some 10,000 litres of helicopter fuel from the frigate has leaked into the sea after the collision tore a large hole in its side, the military said. The frigate's 137 crew members were evacuated amid fears that it may sink.

Eight people on the KNM Helge Instad were injured in the 4am collision said Rear Adm. Nils Andreas Stensoenes, the head of Norway's navy. Two of them were taken to a nearby hospital.

The ship, which had recently taken part in the vast Trident Juncture NATO military drill in Norway, is 'strongly listing,' Stensoenes told a news conference Thursday afternoon. The frigate was lying in the water almost on its side with its stern under the water.

The 442ft long frigate, built in Spain in 2009, is part of a NATO fleet in the Atlantic. The alliance has been informed of the accident, he said.

The Maltese-flagged oil tanker, Sola TS, was not damaged and its 23-man crew remained on board. The shipping site Sysla reported the tanker had been loaded with crude oil and was on its way to Britain.

Stensoenes said the cause of the accident was not clear and the Navy would wait for the findings of Norway's Accident Investigation Board. Earlier reports had said a towboat was also involved in the collision, but Stensoenes denied that report.

He said the frigate had been pushed by towboats into shallow water where it could not sink fully.

'We are in a security phase for the time being,' he said. He declined to comment on what would happen to the weapons on board the ship.

Some 10,000 liters of helicopter fuel from the frigate has leaked into the sea, said Johan Marius Ly of the Norwegian Coast Guard. The fuel was expected to evaporate quickly.

Norway's largest oil and gas company, Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, said its non-emergency activities at the Sture terminal where the collision occurred were shut down as a precaution for many hours but were gradually starting up again late Thursday afternoon.

The Accident Investigation Board said because the tanker is Maltese-registered, the Marine Safety Investigation Unit (MSIU) of Malta will participate in the investigation.</s>A rescue operation is underway after a Norwegian Navy frigate reportedly lost control and collided with an oil tanker off Norway’s coast. Seven people were injured, local media says.

The vessels involved in the accident on Thursday morning were reportedly carrying around 160 people – 137 aboard the navy ship and 23 on the tanker. Those injured were among the oil tanker’s crew, local newspaper VG reported.

The frigate is believed to be the KNM Helge Ingstad, which took part in NATO’s massive ongoing Trident Juncture 2018 wargames. The collision occurred as the warship was heading back to its base, VG says, citing military spokesperson Vegard Finberg.</s>Norwegian frigate is rammed by tanker in harbor, could sink

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — An oil tanker rammed a Norwegian navy frigate Thursday in a harbor on the country's western coast, tearing a large hole in its side, the military said. The frigate's 137 crew members were evacuated amid fears that it may sink.

Eight people on the KNM Helge Instad were injured in the 4 a.m. collision in Sture, north of Bergen, said Rear Adm. Nils Andreas Stensoenes, the head of Norway's navy. Two of them were taken to a nearby hospital.

The ship, which had recently taken part in the vast Trident Juncture NATO military drill in Norway, is "strongly listing," Stensoenes told a news conference Thursday afternoon. The frigate was lying in the water almost on its side with its stern under the water.

The 134-meter (442-foot) long frigate, built in Spain in 2009, is part of a NATO fleet in the Atlantic. The alliance has been informed of the accident, he said.

The Maltese-flagged oil tanker, Sola TS, was not damaged and its 23-man crew remained on board. The shipping site Sysla reported the tanker had been loaded with crude oil and was on its way to Britain.

Stensoenes said the cause of the accident was not clear and the Navy would wait for the findings of Norway's Accident Investigation Board. Earlier reports had said a towboat was also involved in the collision, but Stensoenes denied that report.

He said the frigate had been pushed by towboats into shallow water where it could not sink fully.

"We are in a security phase for the time being," he said. He declined to comment on what would happen to the weapons on board the ship.

Some 10,000 liters of helicopter fuel from the frigate has leaked into the sea, said Johan Marius Ly of the Norwegian Coast Guard. The fuel was expected to evaporate quickly.

Norway's largest oil and gas company, Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, said its non-emergency activities at the Sture terminal where the collision occurred were shut down as a precaution for many hours but were gradually starting up again late Thursday afternoon.

The Accident Investigation Board said because the tanker is Maltese-registered, the Marine Safety Investigation Unit (MSIU) of Malta will participate in the investigation.</s>One of the biggest warships in the Norwegian navy had to be evacuated after it collided with a Maltese oil tanker and started sinking.

The KNM Helge Ingstad frigate collided with the tanker in a fjord in western Norway this morning and eight people were left injured.

All 137 people on board the warship had to be evacuated after the clash with the Sola TS tanker and it eventually ran aground.

The ship, which was returning from NATO's Trident Juncture exercises, is one of five such frigates in the Norwegian navy and is the second newest.

There were fears it would sink as it took on water after the crash but it ran aground just off the shore near Bergen.

An image published by Norwegian broadcaster NRK showed that water had almost reached the level of the frigate's helicopter platform.

A total of 137 people were on board the frigate while 23 were on the tanker, which was flying the Maltese flag.

The 62,000-tonne tanker was only slightly damaged and oil appears not to have spilled from it.

'A small oil slick from the frigate has been detected but nothing large,' an official said.

The circumstances of the accident, which took place shortly after 4am in the Hjeltefjord near Bergen, are not yet clear.

'The armed forces is now reviewing all the means available in the region to assist the KNM Helge Ingstad,' said Lieutenant Colonel Ivar Moen.

Built in 2009, the KNM Helge Ingstad participated in chemical disarmament operations in Syria between December 2013 and May 2014.</s>A Norwegian navy frigate and a Maltese oil tanker collided in a fjord in western Norway this morning, injuring seven people.

The KNM Helge Ingstad frigate, which was returning from NATO's Trident Juncture exercises, was evacuated after the collision with the Sola TS tanker.

There were fears it would sink as it took on water but it ran aground just off the shore near Bergen.

An image published by Norwegian broadcaster NRK showed that water had almost reached the level of the frigate's helicopter platform.

A total of 137 people were on board the frigate while 23 were on the tanker, which was flying the Maltese flag.

The 62,000-tonne tanker received only slight damage and is waiting to be towed to a nearby oil terminal.

'A small oil slick from the frigate has been detected but nothing large,' an official said.

The circumstances of the accident, which took place shortly after 4am in the Hjeltefjord near Bergen, are not yet clear.

'The armed forces is now reviewing all the means available in the region to assist the KNM Helge Ingstad,' said Lieutenant Colonel Ivar Moen.

Built in 2009, the KNM Helge Ingstad participated in chemical disarmament operations in Syria between December 2013 and May 2014.</s>A Norwegian Navy frigate carrying a crew of 137 was rammed by a tanker while in a harbour on the country’s west coast, tearing a large hole in its side, the military has said.

A Norwegian Navy frigate carrying a crew of 137 was rammed by a tanker while in a harbour on the country’s west coast, tearing a large hole in its side, the military has said.

Fears Norwegian frigate may sink after collision with oil tanker

Eight people on the KNM Helge Instad were slightly injured, two of whom were taken to a nearby hospital, in the 4am accident in Sture, north of Bergen, said Rear Admiral Nils Andreas Stensoenes, the head of Norway’s Navy.

The crew were evacuated amid fears the vessel would sink.

The ship, which had recently taken part in the vast Nato drill Trident Juncture in Norway, is “strongly listing”, Rear Admiral Stensoenes told a news conference.

The frigate was lying in the water almost on its side with its stern under the water.

The Maltese-flagged tanker, Sola TS, was not damaged and its 23-man crew remained on board.

The shipping site Sysla reported that the tanker had been loaded with crude oil and was on its way to the UK.

Rear Admiral Stensoenes said the cause of the accident was not clear and the Navy would wait for the findings of Norway’s Accident Investigation Board.

Earlier reports had said a towboat was also involved in the accident, but Rear Admiral Stensoenes denied this.

Some 10,000 litres of helicopter fuel from the frigate’s tanks leaked into the sea, Johan Marius Ly of the Norwegian Coast Guard said.

The fuel was expected to evaporate quickly.

The 134-metre long frigate, built in Spain in 2009, has a helipad platform on its stern.

Rear Admiral Stensoenes said the frigate had been pushed by towboats into shallow waters where it could not sink fully.

“We are in a security phase for the time being,” he added.

He declined to comment on what would happen to the weapons on board the ship.

The frigate is part of a Nato fleet in the Atlantic and the alliance has been informed of the accident, he told reporters.

Norway’s largest oil and gas company, Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, said it shut down non-emergency activities at the Sture terminal where the collision occurred “as a precautionary measure”.

The Accident Investigation Board added that, because the tanker is Maltese-registered, the Marine Safety Investigation Unit (MSIU) of Malta will also participate in the investigation.
Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Helge Ingstad collides with a Maltese oil tanker in the Heltefjord while returning from NATO military exercises, prompting the evacuation of all 137 crew members. Seven sailors were injured in the collision.