Reports: Helmsman of Cargo Ship Run Aground in Norway Was Likely Asleep

 Johan Helberg stands next to his house, with the container ship NCL Salten in the background, after the 135-meter-long ship ran aground in the Trondheimsfjord, outside Byneset, in Trondheim, Norway, Thursday May 22, 2025. (Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Johan Helberg stands next to his house, with the container ship NCL Salten in the background, after the 135-meter-long ship ran aground in the Trondheimsfjord, outside Byneset, in Trondheim, Norway, Thursday May 22, 2025. (Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP)
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Reports: Helmsman of Cargo Ship Run Aground in Norway Was Likely Asleep

 Johan Helberg stands next to his house, with the container ship NCL Salten in the background, after the 135-meter-long ship ran aground in the Trondheimsfjord, outside Byneset, in Trondheim, Norway, Thursday May 22, 2025. (Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Johan Helberg stands next to his house, with the container ship NCL Salten in the background, after the 135-meter-long ship ran aground in the Trondheimsfjord, outside Byneset, in Trondheim, Norway, Thursday May 22, 2025. (Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP)

The helmsman of a huge container ship that ran aground in Norway just a stone's throw away from a cabin as its owner slept was probably asleep as well at the time of the accident, Norwegian media reported Friday.

"Only one person was on the bridge at the time. He was steering the vessel, but didn't change course when entering the Trondheim fjord as he should have," the news agency NTB reported.

"Police have received information from others who were on board that he was asleep," police official Kjetil Bruland Sorensen told NTB.

The 135-metre (443-foot) NCL Salten sailed up onto shore just meters from Johan Helberg's wooden cabin around dawn on Thursday.

Helberg discovered the unexpected visitor only when a panicked neighbor who had rung his doorbell repeatedly to no avail gave up and called him on the phone.

"The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don't like to open," Helberg told television channel TV2.

His neighbor, Jostein Jorgensen, said he was roused at around 5:00 am by the sound of a ship heading at full speed toward land and immediately ran to Helberg's house.

None of the cargo's 16 crew members were injured, and Norwegian police have opened an investigation.

"We are aware of the police stating that they have one suspect, and we continue to assist the police and authorities in their ongoing investigation," the NCL shipping group said Friday.

"We are also conducting internal inquiries but prefer not to speculate further," it added.

Efforts to refloat the ship have failed so far, and the massive red and green container ship remained stuck, looming over the small cabin.



Low Water Levels Hamper Shipping in Germany's Rhine River as Heat Wave Continues

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a barge on the Rhine river in front of the Muenster cathedral ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a barge on the Rhine river in front of the Muenster cathedral ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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Low Water Levels Hamper Shipping in Germany's Rhine River as Heat Wave Continues

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a barge on the Rhine river in front of the Muenster cathedral ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a barge on the Rhine river in front of the Muenster cathedral ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

A heat wave in western Europe has lowered water levels on Germany's Rhine River, hampering shipping and raising freight costs for cargo owners due to additional surcharges as their vessels were unable to sail fully loaded, commodity traders said on Monday.

Low water has limited shipping on all of the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said.

At Kaub, cargo vessels could only sail about 50% full, at Duisburg and Cologne between 40-50% full, Reuters reported.

Shallow water leads vessel operators to impose surcharges on freight rates to compensate for the vessels being unable to sail fully loaded, which raises the need for additional vessels to move consignments and increases costs for cargo owners.

Still, cargo is being delivered, with loads being carried by several vessels instead of one, traders said.

The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains, minerals, ores, coal and oil products, including heating oil.

An intense heat wave is again forecast in parts of Germany this week, including in the Rhine area, with temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahreinheit) possible in Cologne.

Traders said no improvement was in immediate sight and water levels could fall further.

German companies also faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in the summer of 2022 after a drought and heat wave led to unusually low water levels on the Rhine.