Navigare 4 - 2019

NEWS
ENGLISH TRANSLATION FROM PAGE 8
Erik J. Landa survived the Sleipner accident 20 years ago:
Struggled to survive in high
waves, darkness and cold
In all likelihood, it was his
thorough training, long experience
and a great deal of good fortune
that saved the life of Erik J.
Landa, who was a passenger when
the high-speed ferry ‘Sleipner’
ran aground and sank. Since 2014,
the experienced naval officer has
been employed by the Norwegian
Maritime Authority, where he
works as project director for new
construction and handles cases
related to safety and rescue for
passenger vessels.
BJARTE AMBLE, Journalist of Navigare
On that Friday night in November 1999, Erik
J. Landa was on his way home to Stord island
on board the high-speed ferry ‘Sleipner’. In
about three weeks’ time he would turn 40
years of age.
He was returning from an inspection
trip to a seismic vessel that Rieber
Shipping, his employer at the time, had
under construction in Flekkefjord. For
months, he had supervised its construction
at the shipyard there. Normally he would
drive the car to and from his home on
Stord island during the weekends. This
particular Friday, however, he left his car
on the south side of the Boknafjord, since
he had scheduled a meeting with the ship
owners in Bergen on the coming Monday.
His plan was to catch a plane from Bergen
FOTO: ANNE ELISABETH NÆSS/NTB SCANPIX
to Sola after the meeting and continue by
car to Flekkefjord.
‘I didn’t think the weather was too bad on
that day – I’ve travelled on both this stretch
and others in far worse conditions. So I didn’t
imagine that this would be particularly risky,’
says Landa. He was sitting about midships on
the bottom deck near the kiosk, taking
54 | Navigare 4 - 2019