Somnolent Johan Helberg Sleeps Until Neighbor Warns of Container Ship Ploughing into His Garden Metres from His Bedroom

In the early morning calm of Byneset, a small coastal area just west of Trondheim, Norway, something extraordinary happened—though one man remained blissfully unaware. At around 5 a.m., a 135-meter container ship veered off course and ran aground just meters from a family home. Inside, Johan Helberg was fast asleep, completely oblivious to the fact that disaster had nearly struck.

It wasn’t until a concerned neighbor urgently rang his doorbell that Johan Helberg awoke to a scene that looked like it had been lifted straight from a disaster movie. Outside his window stood a massive vessel—so close he had to bend his neck to look up at it. The ship had stopped barely seven meters from his bedroom wall, a stroke of sheer luck preventing it from turning his home into splinters.

The Morning It All Happened

Johan Helberg, speaking with Norwegian broadcaster NRK, admitted he hadn’t heard a single sound despite the enormity of what had just occurred. “I didn’t hear anything. I was sleeping seven meters from the bow,” he said. “It was lucky that it went ashore there. Five meters further south, and it would have entered the bedroom. And that wouldn’t have been particularly pleasant.”

The incident began when the container ship, operated by North Sea Container Line, somehow lost control and drifted toward shore. At that hour, most of Byneset was still asleep, but the sound of the ship moving unusually close to land woke Johan Helberg’s neighbor, Jostein Jorgensen. Alarmed by what he saw through his window—a ship heading directly toward the coast—Jorgensen sprang into action.

He rushed outside, yelling, whistling, and waving his arms in an effort to either alert the ship’s crew or warn nearby residents. When he realized the ship wasn’t slowing down and that Helberg’s house was directly in its path, he ran to his neighbor’s home and rang the doorbell repeatedly until someone answered.

Sleeping Soundly by the Fjord: Man Snoozes Through Container Ship Grounding!

While a 135-meter vessel ran aground just meters from his home, one Norwegian man didn’t hear a thing. No injuries reported — except maybe to his alarm clock. pic.twitter.com/trr4OxK0hx

— DECK TV (@decktvcom) May 22, 2025

Johan Helberg opened the door in confusion, only to be met with Jorgensen’s urgent voice: “Haven’t you seen the ship?” Still disoriented, Helberg followed him to the window. What he saw astonished him. “I went to the window and was quite astonished to see a big ship,” he said. “I had to bend my neck to see the top of it. It was so unreal.”

What Caused the Incident?

The container ship had 16 crew members aboard when it grounded itself near Johan Helberg’s property. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and no immediate environmental damage was confirmed.

Nevertheless, the situation quickly drew the attention of local police and maritime authorities. An investigation was launched to determine how such a massive ship could stray so dangerously off course in the early hours of the morning.

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Police initially ruled out drugs or alcohol as contributing factors. As investigations continued into Friday, Norwegian media reported that the likely cause of the crash was fatigue—specifically, that someone on board may have fallen asleep while on duty. Although no official confirmation had yet been made, the suggestion aligns with the quiet, gradual drift of the ship as it approached shore.

This wouldn’t be the first time the ship was involved in an incident, according to Bente Hetland, CEO of North Sea Container Line. However, she noted that the vessel had been sailing along Norway’s coast for over 15 years and that none of its previous mishaps had ever resulted in serious consequences for crew members or the environment. Still, the near miss at Byneset will likely prompt a thorough review of protocols and fatigue management practices among maritime operators.

The Effort to Move the Ship

Once the ship had grounded, attention turned to the enormous task of getting it back into the water. Initial efforts to refloat the vessel on Thursday morning were unsuccessful. Maritime engineers and recovery crews planned a second attempt for later that evening, hoping to take advantage of the next high tide.

Re-floating such a large ship is a complex and delicate task, requiring careful coordination and specialized equipment. Salvage crews must consider everything from the ship’s weight distribution to the seabed’s composition, not to mention ensuring no fuel or cargo leaks into the surrounding environment. Though the crew and ship seemed physically unharmed, the situation demanded urgency. A vessel of this size stranded so close to private property posed an ongoing safety risk.

From his viewpoint, Helberg believed the vessel would likely remain where it was for a while. “It will probably take some time,” he said, looking at the massive hull that loomed over his garden like a giant steel monument to fate.

The bizarre nature of the incident didn’t go unnoticed. Local and international media quickly picked up the story, drawing attention to both the extraordinary luck that prevented a tragedy and the quiet charm of a Norwegian man who managed to sleep through the entire affair. On social media, many marveled at Johan Helberg’s ability to remain undisturbed while a 135-meter cargo ship practically parked itself in his backyard.

“Only in Norway can a man sleep through a shipwreck in his garden,” joked one user on Twitter. Another commented, “Norwegian sleep quality should be studied by scientists.”

More seriously, maritime experts raised questions about onboard safety measures, watchkeeping standards, and whether automation or human fatigue had played a role in the accident. While container ships are usually equipped with navigational alarms and alert systems, incidents involving fatigue are not unheard of in the shipping industry, which often demands long hours and minimal rest.

The Norwegian maritime authorities are expected to release more details once the investigation concludes, including whether disciplinary actions or changes in safety policies will be necessary.

A Story That Will Be Told for Years

In Byneset, life is already returning to its usual quiet rhythm. But for Johan Helberg and his neighbor Jostein Jorgensen, this will be a story retold for decades. The night a giant container ship nearly turned their homes into headlines, the quick thinking of one man and the deep slumber of another collided in a way that was almost poetic.

It’s hard not to appreciate the surreal humor of the moment—how silence and steel came together to create a scene that is both terrifying and oddly comical. Helberg’s calm reaction, even after seeing the enormous ship in his garden, reveals something quintessentially Norwegian: a stoic, unflappable calm even in the face of absurdity.

For now, the ship remains grounded. Maritime engineers continue to monitor the situation while assessing the safest way to return the vessel to the sea. And in a small house just seven meters from where tons of steel rest precariously close, Johan Helberg likely sleeps just as soundly, knowing full well that lightning rarely strikes twice. Or ships, for that matter.