HJELTEFJORDEN, Norway -- Unmanned underwater vehicles have completed the salvage of anti-ship missiles from the sunken Norwegian frigate Helge Ingstad, five weeks after the ship was lost following a collision with the tanker Solar TS. The UUVs picked up the missiles, still in their launch containers, as slung loads and brought them to the surface. The recovery of these missiles is primarily intended as a safety measure, eliminating any risk of an accidental explosion. The containers themselves are reported to be intended for spray and weather protection only and, after five weeks submerged in salt water, the missiles within them will be damaged beyond repair.
The film clip of the salvage operation also shows the extensive underwater damage suffered by the frigate. It leaves little doubt that the ship was mortally wounded in the first few seconds of the collision and nothing could have saved her. The Norwegian Navy reported six adjacent compartments out of thirteen flooded, a degree of damage that would have sunk even a much larger ship. Her fate was made certain by progressive flooding throughout the stern half of the ship, exacerbated by leakage along the hollow shafts and the shaft tunnels.
Yet more bad news for the salvage effort is that the wreck is still moving under the influence of the tides and weather conditions. Thus, the already-massive damage is steadily getting worse making salvage operations incrementally more difficult.
Source: NRK
Associated URL:
https://www.nrk.no/hordaland/unike-unde ... 1.14341000
Source Language: Norwegian
Author: Stuart Slade, Senior Naval Analyst
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