Ammon News - A Norwegian man has spoken of the “unreal” moment he woke up to discover that a 135-metre container ship had crashed into his front garden.

The cargo vessel, the NCL Salten, had run aground just before 5am on Thursday after entering the Trondheim fjord on its way to the western town of Orkanger.

An astonished neighbour watched as the ship, which was travelling at about 16 knots (approximately 30km/h), headed straight for the shore into Johan Helberg’s garden, narrowly missing his house.

Helberg, who lives in Byneset, near Trondheim, awoke to his neighbour ringing his doorbell. He looked out of his window to see the ship’s bow.

“I went to the window and was quite astonished to see a big ship,” Helberg told the Guardian. “I had to bend my neck to see the top of it. It was so unreal.”

There were 16 crew members, among them Norwegians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Russians, on board the Cyprus-registered ship. There were no reports of injuries or oil spills. Police are investigating the incident and have identified one suspect on board the boat.

“Normally ships turn left or right into the fjord. But this went straight ahead,” Helberg, who has lived in the house for 25 years, added. “It was very close to the house.” The Guardian