Examination of Design and Human Factors Supporting Sensemaking, Resilience and Performance in the Ship Accident Helge Ingstad in Norway

We examine design and Human Factors supporting sensemaking, resilience and performance on the bridge of the frigate HNoMS Helge Ingstad that collided with the tanker Sola TS in 2018. We are presenting a framework to evaluate the design based on a system perspective. The frigate was a modern ship, with seven seamen on the bridge, performing operations during night. The officer of the watch considered Sola TS as a part of a land-based installation. The officer did not get clear indication from supporting systems on the bridge that Sola TS was a moving ship. The workload on the bridge was high with many alarms, officers in training, and communication through VHF. No personnel fatalities, but the frigate sank. The cost of a new frigate is estimated to be 1400 Mill USD. The accident analysis benefits from the sensemaking perspective, the design of bridge systems did not support reliable sensemaking.