It is the first time anyone has stepped out of their house to find a container ship in their garden, just a couple of metres from the doorstep. It’s a surreal image, yet not the work of artificial intelligence but the result of a real event that took place in Norway during the night between 21 and 22 May 2025. The container ship Ncl Salten ran aground on the shore of the Trondheim fjord, stopping on the lawn in front of a cottage, with its bow halting just a few metres from the house where the owner was sleeping. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but a clay landslide caused by the grounding forced the evacuation of three people from the area.
The incident occurred at around 5.30 in the morning on the coast of Byneset. According to data from the charting service of the Norwegian Coastal Administration (Nais), the vessel was travelling at approximately 16 knots just before the impact, coming from Norway’s north-western coast and heading towards the port of Orkanger. One of the more curious aspects of the incident is that Johan Helberg, the homeowner, was fast asleep just metres from where the ship's bow came to a stop and heard nothing during the grounding. He later said he was woken up by a neighbour, who had heard the noise and rang the doorbell to ask if he had already seen the ship.
The only visible damage was a broken pipe at Helberg’s house, but the consequences could have been far worse, as the Norwegian himself told the local press: “If the ship had hit the rock right next to it, it would have lifted and crashed into the house with force.” The Trøndelag police have launched an investigation into the incident and are questioning the ship’s crew. The shipping company is also conducting a thorough internal inquiry.
The Norwegian Coastal Administration, in coordination with the vessel’s owner, North Sea Container Line, began salvage operations, but an initial attempt to refloat the ship during the morning high tide, around 9.00, was unsuccessful. The next attempt will have to wait for the return of high tide at 20.40. The Ncl Salten – with a capacity of 886 TEU – has run aground before. The first time was in 2023 at Tømmervika, in the municipality of Hadsel, though the ship managed to free itself on that occasion, and a second time in April 2024 in the port of Ålesund. In that case, although it freed itself from the rocks, the hull suffered significant damage, requiring major repairs and leading to a declaration of General Average by the owners.
This is the ship’s third name. Before being acquired by North Sea Container Line, which registered it under the Cypriot flag, it was known as Flensburg, and previously as Maersk Flensburg. The vessel, built in 2002, is 135 metres long and has a gross tonnage of 9,990.
