A drifting, unmanned 16-foot open white boat with its motor running triggered a massive emergency response in the Hjeltefjorden off Tjeldstø in Øygarden municipality on Monday evening, October 5, 2026. The alarm sounded after an observant local spotted the craft untethered and moving through the water with nobody on board, prompting a coordinated deployment of air ambulances, rescue helicopters, multiple rescue vessels, and Kystvaktskipet «Bison».
A Complex Maritime Search Under Challenging Weather Conditions
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre led the operation, dispatching a rescue helicopter from Florø alongside three rescue boats, fire service vessels, and the Coast Guard ship. According to Bergens Tidende, more than ten vessels were actively searching the water as darkness fell. The adverse weather—specifically strong winds in the area—made the search operation considerably more complex and demanding, as noted by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.
Authorities feared someone might have fallen overboard. Hans Jakob Gulliksen, a rescue leader at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, told Bergens Tidende that items discovered on board suggested the vessel had been actively in use before it broke free. In addition to watercraft, rescue personnel deployed drones while ground teams from the Red Cross, Norske Redningshunder, and Norsk Folkehjelp mobilized for extensive shoreline searches.
The Owner Steps Forward and Ends the Alert
The multi-agency mobilization came to a swift close shortly before 9:00 PM when the boat’s owner came forward. Police operational commander Frode Kolltveit of the Western Police District confirmed that a man in his sixties contacted authorities to report that the vessel belonged to him.
The owner explained that he had used the boat earlier that afternoon, leaving it moored near his cabin around 5:00 PM with the motor running. Approximately an hour and a half later, the boat slipped its moorings and drifted out into the fjord, where a local resident eventually intercepted it and brought it ashore. Police confirmed that no one was reported missing in the area, and the emergency response units stood down by 9:30 PM.
