The Norwegian Ministry of Defence (MOD) has sued Spanish naval shipbuilder Navantia for compensation totalling NOK13.3 billion (US$1.25 million) in relation to the sinking of a Royal Norwegian Navy warship in 2018.
The amount determined by the MOD covers the estimated total cost of raising the sunken frigate HNoMS Helge Ingstad and the acquisition of a replacement vessel.
The MOD had initiated legal action against Navantia in August 2024 less than six years after Helge Ingstad collided with a commercial vessel in the North Sea and later sank.
The frigate collided with the oil tanker Sola TS off the coast of Oygarden in Vestland county at around 04:26 local time on November 8, 2018. The frigate suffered water ingress and sank five days later on November 13.
Eight sailors suffered slight injuries though all 137 of the frigate's crew were safely rescued.
Helge Ingstad was raised from the seabed and transported to the Royal Norwegian Navy base at Haakonsvern in late February 2019. However, Norwegian defence officials ultimately decided to have the frigate scrapped after an assessment revealed the estimated repairs would cost more than acquiring a new warship.
Ole Kristian Rigland, the attorney representing the MOD, said that the frigate's propeller shafts were hollow, which then allowed water to flow between some of the ship's watertight compartments.
The lawsuit alleges that a different watertight construction had been incorporated on the Navantia-built Álvaro de Bazán-class frigates in service with the Spanish Navy.
The Álvaro de Bazán-class had served as the basis for Helge Ingstad and her sisters in the Fridtjof Nansen-class in Norwegian service.
Navantia countered by saying that the design issue on the frigate had been identified prior to the incident but the Norwegian Armed Forces permitted the ship to continue operating without implementing any corrective measures.
Mr Rigland clarified that the objective is for both parties to participate in mediation to reach an agreement.