With the status report presented on May 15, it became obvious: the restoration of the "HNoMS Helge Ingstad" (HNoMS - His/Her Norwegian Majesty's Ship) will be <quite> expensive. The repair of the accident, which was rated as a total loss, was estimated at 12-14 billion Norwegian kroner (approx. 1.25 billion euros) and was scheduled to last five years.
In view of the technical, economic and temporal risk, a replacement is appropriate, summarized the press release from the Norwegian Ministry of Defense on June 21. "The government has decided that it is more appropriate to dispose of HNoMS Helge Ingstad than to repair it," Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen said.
The construction of a new ship of a similar design would be one to three billion Norwegian kroner (approx. 103.5 - 310 million euros) cheaper. A replacement within the government is undisputed: “We therefore agreed that the capacity represented by “HNoMS Helge Ingstad” must be restored. I asked the Chief of Armed Forces for his military advice on how to replace the operational capacity,” says the defense minister.
The scrapping of the wreck is said to cost 50-100 million Norwegian kroner (approx. 5.2 - 10.3 million euros). Some parts could be reused after inspection and repair, estimated to be worth between 100 and 400 million Norwegian kroner (10.3 – 41.4 million euros), subject to the necessary inspections and repairs.
Now it is time to look for a replacement. According to Norwegian press reports, all options are being examined, including replacement by several smaller units. Whereby the experiences with "HNoMS Maud", the supply ship built in South Korea, which arrived in his home country in March of this year (the ES&Treported) certainly cannot be ignored. The question of making budget funds available or budgeting within the defense budget is open. The option of extraordinary funding was scrapped in January.
The Norwegian Navy has to overcome a dry spell before a decision is made on the successor and its operational readiness. The gap is currently being filled by deploying the "HNoMS Helge-Ingstad" crew on the remaining four Fridtjof-Nansen-class frigates (more or less a multi-crew concept). Norwegian newspapers also see the provider "HNoMS Maud" in this context. Nothing is known about this from the Ministry of Defense or the armed forces. "HNoMS Maud" is in the process of being ready for use, which is planned for 2020.
In der Nacht zum 8. November letzten Jahres sank „HNoMS Helge Ingstad“ nach Zusammenstoß mit dem Tanker „Sola TS“ in der Nähe von Bergen (Norwegen). Der die Untersuchung führende Abteilungsleiter der Unfalluntersuchungsstelle, Dag Sverre Liseth, hat eine Berichterstattung spätestens 12 Monate nach dem Unfall zugesagt – konform mit den selbst gesetzten Richtlinien.
Hans-Uwe Mergener
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