Shipwrecked Norwegian navy frigate sinks further, nearly submerged

A shipwrecked Norwegian navy frigate that collided with an oil tanker off the Norwegian coast last week sank further on Tuesday and was almost completely submerged, pictures taken by the Norwegian Coastal Administration showed.

It was not immediately clear whether the operations of the nearby Sture crude export terminal were affected. Its operator, Equinor, could not be reached for comment.

A shipwrecked Norwegian navy frigate “KNM Helge Ingstad” is seen in this Norwegian Coastal Administration handout picture in Oygarden, Norway, November 13, 2018. Jakob Ostheim/Norwegian Coastal Administration/Handout vis REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

The Norwegian military has been working since Thursday to attempt to salvage the ship by tethering it with several wires to the shore. Some of these had broken, Norwegian tabloid VG reported on Tuesday.

The ship was stranded off Norway’s west coast early last Thursday after it collided with an oil tanker that had left the Sture oil terminal. The facility was shut for several hours as a result.

Eight Navy staff, out of a total crew of 137, were slightly injured in the accident.