A man in Norway experienced an incredible wake-up call Thursday morning when he found a large cargo ship had run aground in his garden. The impressive 135-meter vessel, known as the NCL Salten, missed Johan Helberg’s house by just meters.
The incident unfolded around 05:00 local time (03:00 GMT), with Mr. Helberg being alerted by his concerned neighbor, Jostein Jorgensen. Jorgensen was roused from sleep by the sounds of the ship approaching at full speed and quickly made his way to Helberg's home. “I rang the doorbell many times, but there was no response,” he told TV2. It was only after unsuccessfully trying to wake him that he resorted to calling Helberg on his phone.
In a subsequent interview, Mr. Helberg described his astonishment when he looked out the window to see "a big ship," noting that he had to tilt his head to fully grasp its size. "It was so unreal," he admitted to the Guardian.
The Cypriot-flagged cargo ship was carrying 16 crew members and was traversing the Trondheim Fjord en route to Orkanger when it suddenly went off course. Fortunately, reports indicate that there were no injuries as a result of the crash. The cause of the mishap has yet to be determined, and Norwegian authorities have initiated an investigation.
Mr. Helberg humorously referred to the ship as "a very bulky new neighbor" but expressed confidence it would "soon go away." Interestingly, the NCL Salten had previously grounded in 2023 but reportedly managed to free itself on its own. As the story unfolds, locals remain in awe of this extraordinary maritime incident.
