443-foot ship pulled free after nearly hitting home as owner slept
A Ukrainian sailor in his 30s was on watch at the time and said he had fallen asleep, according to Norwegian police, who have charged him with "negligent navigation."
The 443-foot NCL Salten sailed up onto shore just a stone's throw from a wooden house around dawn on Thursday.
"It's good to have said hello, but now it's time to say goodbye" the occupant of the house, Johan Helberg, told broadcaster NRK on Tuesday.
The containers on the ship, except for those removed to lighten the bow, are still on board and will be unloaded this evening, Ole T. Bjornevik, the managing director of BOA Offshore told AFP, adding that the operation only lasted 30 minutes and an inspection is underway
"This went better than expected," he told NRK. "This went beyond all expectations."
The Ukrainian seaman has said none of the cargo ship's collision alarms had worked, prosecutor Kjetil Bruland Sorensen told news agency NTB.
The investigation will also look into whether the rules on working hours and rest periods were adhered to on ship, according to police.
Helberg, also slept through the incident and only discovered the unexpected visitor when a panicked neighbor rang his doorbell and called him on the phone.
"The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don't like to open," Helberg told television channel TV2.
The ship reportedly caused damage to a heating pipe in Helberg's cabin, TV2 reported, but the homeowner said he considered himself lucky.
"If the ship had hit the rocky cliff right next to it, it would have lifted up and hit the house hard," he told TV2. "It wasn't many meters off."
None of the 16 crew members were injured.
Bente Hetland, the CEO of the shipping company that owns NCL Salten, told TV2 that the same ship ran aground twice before — once in 2023 in Hadsel and again in 2024, in Ålesund.
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Business Insider
4 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Western arms makers are setting up in Ukraine. Kyiv gets firepower, NATO gets lessons in war.
More and more Western defense companies are opening up operations in Ukraine and working with local firms. A Ukrainian industry body called it a "win-win." Ukraine gets more weapons, and Western companies learn from local experience. Western arms makers aren't just sending weapons to Ukraine these days; they're moving in. As Russia's war drags on, NATO defense companies are opening offices, setting up new production lines, and working closely with Ukrainian partners inside the country at war. For Ukraine, the payoff is that it gets faster, more customized firepower. For the West, it's access to something money can't usually buy: real-time lessons in modern warfare. Ukraine's defense industry is offering hard-earned insights, and NATO countries are able to bring those secrets home before they need to use them themselves. Talking with Business Insider, representatives of Ukraine's defense industry described Western defense companies working in Ukraine as a "win-win" because it helps them learn from the war and Ukraine's industry while also aiding Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion. And Many European leaders have acknowledged that their own domestic industries have much that they can learn from Ukraine's booming defense sector. Ihor Fedirko, the CEO of the Ukrainian Council of Defense Industry, an industry body that represents over 100 Ukrainian defense companies, said Western companies that open offices and produce in Ukraine gain experience "for our type of work." The war is a fast-moving conflict where new tech and innovations are substantially changing how wars are fought, with new developments in drone technology being among the most noticeable. Western companies in Ukraine Among the growing number of Western defense companies that have opened up facilities in Ukraine are the German drone and aerial intelligence company Quantum Systems, which said last month that it will double its production capacity in Ukraine, and KNDS, a French-German defense group opening a subsidiary there. British multinational arms and aerospace company BAE Systems has also set up in Ukraine, and Norwegian defense company Nammo signed an agreement to work with a Ukrainian defense firm. German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall has plans for multiple factories in Ukraine, including an ammunition production plant to make the Lynx infantry fighting vehicle. Even Western companies without production facilities in Ukraine are testing their products there, working with local companies and soldiers and adapting in real time. Kuldar Väärsi, the CEO of Estonian defense company Milrem Robotics, which makes military robotic systems like the THeMIS and has some in Ukraine, told BI his company works directly with Ukrainian industry to keep its systems relevant as well as "to work collaboratively to get the lessons learned from the war in Ukraine and help to improve the European defense equipment." He said that Europe needs to learn from Ukraine's industry, "what works, what doesn't work, what needs to be shifted." And then domestic operations like Brave1, a Ukrainian government-run defense technology and innovation platform, are creating opportunities for foreign companies to test their combat tech on the battlefield in Ukraine. Luke Pollard, the UK's armed forces minister, said in May that "if you are a drone company and you do not have your kit on the front line in Ukraine, you might as well give up." These developments bring a lot of warfighting technology to Ukraine, which needs both innovative solutions and firepower mass to hold its own against Russia. What the West can learn Troels Lund Poulsen, NATO ally Denmark's defense minister, told BI in February: "I think we have a lot to learn from Ukraine." He explained that he wants Danish defense companies to learn from Ukrainian ones so that they can "get some of the lessons learned from the defense companies in Ukraine back to Danish defense companies." He said that by helping Ukraine, "some of the lessons learned will come back to Denmark, and that's a win-win, in fact, both for Ukrainian defense companies and also for Denmark." Some of those lessons are coming back to Denmark through the new way it is getting weapons for Ukraine, Poulsen said. Known as the Danish model because it was pioneered by Denmark, the model sees countries buying weaponry for Ukraine directly from Ukrainian companies, which means weapons get to Ukraine faster and cheaper, without adding to the production backlog that defense companies all over Europe are seeing. Denmark's new connection with Ukraine's defense industry means that lessons from those companies can get back to Danish ones, Poulsen said. He said one of the key lessons Denmark needs to adopt is "the way to produce fast." The West is bracing for a serious conflict, such as a war between Russia and NATO or a fight between the US and China, and defense budgets are soaring. The war in Ukraine is offering insights into modern warfare, specifically what weapons, tactics, and training are needed for the future fight. A key realization from this war is that in a major war, there is a need to produce weapons and equipment quickly. Denmark's prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said in February that it's a problem "if a country at war can produce faster than the rest of us." "I'm not saying we are at wartime," she said, "but we cannot say we are at peacetime anymore. So, we need to change our mindset." Fedirko said that speed is something other European companies can learn from Ukrainian ones: "We can say that what our defense complex is rich with is the ability to scale up manufacturing. That's what we are very good at. So we have a very brief period between R&D." He said Ukrainian companies are also "very swift in terms of testing and finding out any shortcomings and then refining them, addressing them, and then getting ready a new product." He added that Ukraine has shown how fast it can create and scale up new types of weaponry, like drones. Fredriko, NATO defense leaders, and warfare experts have all previously warned that Russia's invasion shows that the West needs to get a larger number of cheaper weapons that it can make quickly, rather than just focusing on a smaller number of advanced pieces of equipment. There has to be a balance between cheap mass and exquisite firepower, they say. Ammunition is also key. NATO's secretary general warned this month that Russia makes as much ammunition in three months as NATO does in a year. In the war in Ukraine, ammunition has at times been a decisive factor in battles. Working in Ukraine, Western companies get greater insight and clarity into the demands of large-scale modern wars. Russia has been getting these lessons firsthand. This is proving an opportunity for the West to catch up.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
A new, faster, cheaper way to arm Ukraine supercharged key artillery production
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The former approach is still key for Ukraine, but the latter has shown real potential. The new system, pioneered by NATO member Denmark and nicknamed the Danish Model, has helped Ukraine get more weapons for it to fight back against Russia's invasion. In particular, it has had a really "significant impact" on Bohdana production, Serhiy Goncharov, the CEO of the National Association of Ukrainian Defense Industries (NAUDI), told Business Insider. His group represents around 100 Ukrainian companies. Production increased from six units a month in 2023 to more than 20 of these systems in 2025, according to Ukraine's Defence Procurement Agency. The Bohdana is a NATO-standard, self-propelled howitzer produced by Ukraine's Kramatorsk Heavy Duty Machine Tool Building Plant, and Goncharov described it as "a symbol of resistance and the symbol of Ukrainian industry." Funding weapons that are made in Ukraine is important given current challenges. European military stockpiles have little to spare for Ukraine, and many Western defense companies already have big backlogs in production. So even funding new Western weapons doesn't help Ukraine in the short term. Ukraine frequently deals with shortages of foreign weapons from its partners given the war's tremendous demand for war material. The model is also useful for NATO, with many countries in the alliance wanting to maintain and grow their own arsenals, worried that Russian aggression could someday extend beyond Ukraine. Goncharov said that the Danish model has helped Ukrainian industry scale production by giving it the finance it needs, as usually it is limited to what Ukraine's defense ministry can afford, which is out of sync with industrial capacity. That financial support, he said, gives producers "more confidence" to increase their production, knowing the funding is there. In addition to the homemade howitzers, the Danish model has helped fund more drones, as well as anti-tank and anti-ship missile systems. A host of countries, like Sweden and Iceland, are giving money to Ukraine through the model, which is growing. In 2024, the model finalized procurements for weaponry worth more than $550 million, and Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said last month that support through this model is expected to reach more than $1.7 billion this year. And more partner countries are continuing to join while some countries, like Germany, are launching independent programs inspired by the model. New help for Ukraine Troels Lund Poulsen, Denmark's defense minister, told Business Insider in March that the model so far "has been a great success" and that under it, the weapon prices are "quite low compared to buying the artillery systems in Europe." Goncharov called the model a "new vision of how you can support Ukraine" and said that work on the Bohdana was a big "success story." He said NAUDI has a list of weapons that it is ready to make more of through the Danish model or a similar model, including artillery, armored vehicles, jamming systems, and drones. Ihor Fedirko, the CEO of the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry (UCDI), a body that represents more than 100 companies, told Business Insider that the increase in Bohdana production was "made possible thanks to the Danish model and associated funding." And the capacity exists for increased total production, he said. Fedirko described the Danish model as "the largest hope for the private sector" in Ukraine. Within Ukraine's defense industry, "there are huge hopes and expectations in terms of the Danish model, and we hope that far more countries will join it," Fedirko said. He said that would strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities, "so this is why the private market is very much looking forward to its further unfolding." Ukraine's defense industry Private companies have been essential to Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion. The domestic defense sector has exploded, developing and testing new weaponry that is then purchased by Ukraine's military and sometimes by units buying directly. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 30% of the military equipment Ukraine used in 2024 was made in the country. He said recently that has climbed to 40%. Fedirko said there are around 700 market players in Ukraine's defense industry, with just 76 of those being state-owned. The Danish model helps with a problem that is facing Ukraine's defense industry and military, which is that its defense companies have the ability to produce far more weaponry than Ukraine's government can afford to buy. Goncharov said that "our capacity of the Ukrainian producers is at least three times higher than our potential to purchase." If it does not receive outside support, the defense sector is limited by the Ukrainian budget. Goncharov said that in Ukraine, "we are ready to increase our production," if more purchases are made. The Danish model lets Europe arm Ukraine without emptying its stockpiles. He said sometimes defense companies can be "sitting in the office and have no contract at all" but be ready to produce. The Danish model gives companies the financial means to keep producing, he said. He said he hoped for increased cooperation with Europe, as he sees Ukraine as holding back Russia. "The European Union should understand that we are not fighting not only for Ukraine, that we are fighting for Europe." Read the original article on Business Insider Solve the daily Crossword
Bloomberg
4 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Can a Country be Too Rich? Norway Is Finding Out
By and Ott Ummelas Save In 1969, Phillips Petroleum was poised to abandon exploration of the Norwegian continental shelf when the company decided to drill one last oil well — and hit the jackpot. The discovery made Norway one of the world's richest countries. Its sovereign wealth fund, established to invest the money, now manages about $2 trillion, equivalent to roughly $340,000 for every Norwegian. For years, oil revenue and the wealth fund have helped this tiny nation to enjoy low unemployment, low government debt and a wide social security net guaranteeing a high standard of living.
