Norway - News 24web

With Europe on edge and headlines full of World War 3 warnings, Johan Helberg could have thought the worst when a cargo ship crashed a few metres from his home – but he did not even wake up.

‘Five metres further south, the ship would have entered the bedroom, and that would have been particularly unpleasant,’ he calmly told local media.

The Cypriot-flagged cargo ship, the NCL Salten, was travelling southwest through Norway’s Trondheim Fjord to Orkanger when it went off course.

The 443-foot vessel ploughed through his front garden in the early hours of Thursday, but Johan remained sound asleep.

It was only later when a local resident rushed to check if he was alive that he spotted his ‘very bulky new neighbour’ in Byneset, near Trondheim.

Johan told the Guardian: ‘I went to the window and was quite astonished to see a big ship.

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‘I had to bend my neck to see the top of it. It was so unreal. Normally ships turn left or right into the fjord.

‘But this went straight ahead. It was very close to the house.’

Johan’s neighbour Jostein Jorgensen said he was woken by the sound of the ship as it headed at full speed towards land.

He said: ‘I was sure that he was already outside, but no, there was no sign of life. I rang the doorbell many times and nothing.’

There were 16 people on board the NCL Salten, among them Norwegians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Russians.

*NORWAY OUT* The container ship NCL Salten ran aground at Byneset, outside Trondheim, Norway. A man in Norway woke up to find a massive container ship in his front garden. The 135-metre (443-foot) vessel missed Johan Helberg's house by a few metres at around 5am local time on Thursday (22 May) in Byneset, near Trondheim. Mr. Helberg was only made aware of the incident after his panicked neighbour, who had seen the ship heading straight for shore, repeatedly rang his doorbell and eventually called him on the phone. — The container ship NCL Salten ran aground at Byneset, outside Trondheim, Norway (Picture: SWNS)

No one was injured in the crash and no oil spills have been reported since.

Police have interviewed the crew and are working on theories, including technical failure and human error.

The shipping company, North Sea Container Line (NCL), said a shipmate had been named a suspect but that it was a routine police procedure.

NCL’s chief executive, Bente Hetland, said there was ‘no reason to believe this was intentional’.

Christian Stokke, from the Trøndelag Police District, could not share what role the suspect had on the ship, but said: ‘I cannot say anything specific other than that he was on the bridge when the collision occurred.’