I have resisted posting reports relating to the existence of this exchange officer until now - because I was unable to understand what he/she was doing on the bridge.
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Editor's choice Hot 22.11.2018
US Officer Appears To Be Involved In Norway’s Frigate Collision
A US Navy officer played a central role on the bridge of the frigate KNM Helge Ingstad when it collided with Malta-flagged oil tanker Sola off Norway’s west coast on November 8th, national broadcaster NRK reported.
The incident left 8 people injured. Efforts to move the 5,290-ton warship to a safe place went catastrophically wrong after cables attached to hold it in place snapped. All that remains above the waterline is the frigate’s top, antennas and radar, leading local media to speculate how a ship designed for war failed to avoid a slow-moving, 62,557-ton tanker.
According to the Norwegian outlet, the US officer had no formal responsibility. He was being trained by his Norwegian colleagues to become a duty chief, as confirmed by NATO. Citing unnamed sources, NRK claimed that the officer had a central function on the bridge leading up to the collision.
Cmdr. Kyle Raines of the US Navy’s 6th Fleet said in a statement:
“
The US Navy has an officer assigned to the Personnel Exchange Program (PEP) with Norway as part of the crew of the KNM Helge Ingstad. Because of privacy interests, we are not at liberty to identify this officer by name.”
AnnKristin Salbuvik, a spokesperson for Norway’s Ministry of Defense, said the American officer was onboard Helge Ingstad as a part of an exchange program between the two countries’ navies.
Maritime audio logs revealed that the frigate received several proximity warnings from the tanker, whose crew urged the frigate to immediately turn or “do something.” The entire communication was reportedly carried out in Norwegian, despite the US officer on board.
The tanker, which was heading northbound, contacted the frigate, heading southbound, to ask if they had a plan to safely pass them as they seemed to be on a collision course,” Kjetil Stormark, top editor at AldriMer.no, told the BBC in a subsequent interview. “The response was: ‘We have everything under control.’”
Furthermore, AldriMer.no cited several anonymous sources familiar with the matter who claimed that the frigate was in the wrong. It failed to yield to the larger Sola, and proceeded along its doomed course despite being in contact with the tanker and officials on shore the entire time.
It also appeared likely that the Helge Ingstad was in constant communication with the Fedje Maritime Traffic Center, or Fedje VTS, which is responsible for coordinating all maritime traffic in the fjord in question. As reported by The Drive, any vessel longer than 80 feet, including a military one, is required to get approval from Fedje at least an hour in advance before entering the area. The 5 Norwegian frigates are 440 feet long.
Norwegian defense officials have continuously refused to provide further details into the collision. Navy communications officer Torill Herland told CNN that whatever occurred during the accident near Bergen was “police work.”
A joint investigation by Norway and Malta is also being carried out to establish the cause of the incident.
The KMN Helge Ingstad costs $420 million, which is almost the Navy’s entire annual budget.
The article continues here
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Compare the above with the following:-
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«I Come from the Navy, I know nothing» says Navy Chief
Posted By: Pieter Wijnen 17. November 2018
More than a week after the Navy rammed one of its five frigates into a 250 metre long and 44 metres wide (Aframax) oil tanker at 17 knots, the Norwegian Navy Chief still doesn’t know what went wrong.
– We have chosen not to question the crew because we do not wish to influence them. Of course, they talk to our psychologists and religious counsellors. But they have a duty of confidentiality, so they don’t relay what they are told, Rear Admiral and Navy Chief, Nils Andreas Stensønes, tells NRK.
The Navy has given the Norwegian Accident Commission (NAC) and the police access to the data logs and the crew of the Frigate, KNM «Helge Ingstad». They will carry out their own investigation at a later stage, according to Stensønes. He claims that the Navy wants an «open and honest process regarding the matter», but says that the Norwegian Navy will not go public before they possess a «complete picture».
Navigational training
NATO reports that the Frigate conducted navigational training when the collision occurred. KNM «Helge Ingstad» was on its way back to the Norwegian Navy’s main base, Haakonsvern – on the outskirts of Bergen – while participating in the NATO exercise, «Trident Juncture».
The Rear Admiral does not want to comment on whether there was a special exercise underway when the incident occurred.
– Yes, there was time set aside for navigational training. That is routine. There is a time-slot available to the Commanding Officer. Exactly what the vessel was doing at that point in time, the investigation and the Norwegian Accident Commission must come back to when they have obtained an overview of the situation, says Stensønes.
Affected by the incident
The 137 members of the crew were evacuated from the Frigate after the collision. Eight of them suffer from minor injuries. Two were dispatched to Haukeland University Hospital and the remaining six to the emergency room for treatment.
The crew was severely affected by the incident and was subsequently taken care of at a reception centre at Haakonsvern.
No idea how many were on the bridge
– Do you know how many persons were on the bridge of «Helge Ingstad» when the collision occurred?
– No.
– Are we to believe that the leadership of the Navy hasn’t discussed this internally and hasn’t even got any theories on what occurred?
– We, like everybody else, pay attention [to the matter] and ponder – that is completely unavoidable. But we have experience that the initial information that you receive about such an event is at best, incomplete. Therefore, it is important that we obtain a complete picture as possible before we draw any conclusions, Stensønes replies.
Eight days have passed since the Watch Officer on the bridge ignored pleas from the tanker to slow down and steer starboard, leading to the starboard aft of the multi-billion Frigate torn to tatters by the 28 times heavier tanker.
Crew – some coming within a hairs breath of death – had their cabins wrecked. Water was pouring in through the large gush below the waterline.
Stensønes says he has talked to the entire crew of KNM «Helge Ingstad»
– It makes an impression to talk to young, upstanding persons who have experienced something like this, the Navy High Commander rounds off.
Source NORWAYTODAY Small and Big News from Norway
] during its operational life .....it being in a corrosive environment / atmosphere , the hardware must have some resistance and only the peripheral items , wiring , sensitive components ,computer interface, would need attention, but housings , containment artefacts ,could be reused if basically sound , there again the removal / rework costs would probably negate the benefits gained .......either way their "asset" is going to be unavailable for around 24 months I guess , in which phase no doubt the upgrades that come into existence will be evolved interfaced and integrated ....all of which will add to the "Replacement Cost" finally published to their nation 
DFO
DFO