Report on marine accident involving a rental boat in Bergsfjorden in Loppa municipality, 19 May 2025

The ‘tornadoes’ that were observed may have formed as a result of mountain waves and downslope winds on the lee side, where local topography and changes in horizontal wind with altitude may have played an important role in the formation of such vortices. High-resolution models from MET also indicated chaotic wind conditions in the area on the lee side of the island during the relevant time period. Local conditions such as mountain waves with downslope winds were not captured by the models used by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and were therefore not included in the weather forecasts issued. The tourist anglers and the rental company therefore did not have access to this information when the decision was made to proceed to the lee side of Silda. It can be challenging for a rental company to assess how the weather will actually develop when special weather phenomena such as mountain waves are not included in the forecasts issued by the Meteorological Institute. 

The NSIA conducted stability calculations of the vessel to assess how much force would be required to capsize it and to evaluate the effect of the windage of the wheelhouse. The vessel’s stability was generally good with two persons on board, but the calculations showed that when subjected to gusts exceeding 30 m/s the vessel would capsize. This corresponds with the gusts of over 30 m/s that were observed on the day of the accident. It is therefore vital that rental enterprises consider the wind potential in an area, as powerful gusts may generate significant wind loads – in this case specifically due to the large wheelhouse – thereby adversely affecting the stability of the vessel. 

The rental company had fitted AIS tracking to the vessels and installed VHF DSC with a distress button. This was not required by the current regulations but had been implemented by the rental company to enhance safety. In this case, however, there was no time to use the distress button as the capsizing occurred rapidly. The NSIA considers the margin for the tourist angler to have successfully raised the alarm to have been narrow, as the mobile phone might have had no signal or ceased to function after he entered the water. In this accident, for example, a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) capable of alerting the emergency services directly would rapidly have provided information about the position of the persons in distress. This would have constituted a more reliable means of alerting than a mobile telephone that had fallen into the sea.

The NSIA considers that there is a lack of regulations specifically directed at rental enterprises and the safety measures required to conduct safe rental operations. This is particularly important given that those who rent boats are not always familiar with the vessel, the waters, the weather conditions or the Norwegian emergency alerting system. The regulations currently applicable to rental enterprises are too generic and contain few safety measures specifically aimed at ensuring the safe rental of vessels.

The NSIA has published a raport "Report on marine accident involving a rental vessel north-east of Kråkenes Lighthouse in Vestland County, 4 May 2025" which recommends (Safety recommendation Marine no 2026/04T) that requirements for tracking and alerting systems for rental enterprises and rental vessels are set. This report is supporting that recommendation.

Published 12.05.2026.