The Norwegian state is heading to court to decide responsibility for a collision between a Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) tanker and a frigate.
A 15-day trial will take place on 21 September next year at Bergen district court, news site Teknisk Ukeblad.
The naval vessel Helge Ingstad was sunk following a collision involving TEN's 113,000-dwt Sola TS (built 2013) on 8 November 2018.
Five days after the incident, the state sued shipowner Twitt Navigation, Norwegian media said. TEN operates the vessel.
"How the responsibility should be distributed, it is up to the court to decide. Beyond this, the state does not want to comment on the details of the case," said government spokesman Knut-Fredrik Haug-Hustad, according to Bergens Tidende.
Court fund
Twitt has reportedly paid NOK 400m ($44m) into court as a limitation fund.
A government lawyer said the case related to liability not damages.
"The fund will only be able to cover a small proportion of these costs," he added.
The cost of repairing the frigate is estimated to be between NOK 12bn ($1.4bn) and NOK 14bn, while the cost of purchasing a new similar vessel is estimated at NOK 11bn to NOK 13bn.
A case to decide compensation for losses not covered by the fund could be brought later.
Twitt Navigation lawyer Lars Inge Orstavik said he had no comment.
A preliminary investigation in November found the crew of Helge Ingstad did not realise they were headed toward a moving tanker until it was too late.
The Accident Investigation Board Norway said the crew of the state-of-the-art naval ship, having just completed a watch change while returning from Nato exercises in the early hours of 8 November, thought the tanker was stationary until the two were within 400 metres of each other.
Too late
The frigate's crew then attempted an avoidance manoeuvre, but it was too late.
TradeWinds has reported that Norway has decided not to repair the vessel.
There are three suspects in the collision: the pilot on board Sola TS, an officer from Helge Ingstad and an employee of the local vessel traffic services.
Oyvind Groneng, a lawyer representing New York-listed TEN, has previously said: “The incident on the 8 November 2018 that led to the sinking of the frigate KNM Helge Ingstad was caused solely by the frigate’s negligence."
Sola TS only suffered minor damage in the bow in the collision.
TEN has been contacted for further comment.
