A Norwegian man managed to sleep through an enormous container ship running aground on his front lawn.
Johan Helberg, a resident of Byneset on the Trondheim Fjord, was awakened by his neighbor who inquired if he had observed a boat outside, as reported by TV2 Norway.
When he looked out his door, he saw a 135m-long container ship parked up in his front yard.
The managing director of the shipping company NCL, Bente Hetland, described it as a “serious incident” and expressed gratitude that no injuries were sustained during the grounding.
“The cause of the incident is currently unknown, and we are awaiting the results of the ongoing investigation conducted by the relevant authorities,” Hetland stated. “We are also evaluating the extent of the damage to the vessel.”
A tugboat was initially sent to try to pull the vessel free, to no avail.
On Thursday evening, a salvage company tried to mount an attempt to refloat the ship at high tide, but it was later decided it was not possible, the Norwegian Coastal Administration said in a statement.
It said geotechnical investigations were now needed before another attempt could be made.
While there have been no signs of oil leaking from the vessel, the authority said it had an oil response vessel on standby to respond, if needed.
