The vessel was ordered on 23 June and constructed by Navantia in Spain. The ship was launched on 23 November and commissioned on 29 November Named for Helge Ingstad , a Norwegian explorer, the Fridtjof Nansen class are capable of anti-air , anti-submarine and surface warfare. On 13 November , the ship sank where she had run aground and became a constructive total loss.
She was raised in a salvage operation from 27 February to 3 March In June after it was deemed uneconomical to repair her, it was decided that she would be scrapped.
The design of the Fridtjof Nansen -class frigates began in The class is designed for operational flexibility with each ship capable of anti-air , anti-submarine and surface warfare. This was done to allow vessels of the class to operate with more ease in international operations. The frigates have a standard displacement of 5, long tons 5, t. The vessels have a complement of over personnel. The class are armed with an octuple launcher for Kongsberg Naval Strike Missiles for surface warfare.
The launcher is located amidships, behind the forward superstructure. The ships also mount two twin-mounted mm For signal defence, the class operates the Terma DLT decoy launcher and Loki torpedo countermeasure systems. The ship was ordered for construction on 23 June by Norway and built by the Spanish shipbuilders Navantia at Ferrol , Spain. Construction had been delayed by disputes over quality control. The frigate was launched on 23 November and named for the Norwegian explorer Helge Ingstad.
From December to May , Helge Ingstad was one of the escort ships for merchant vessels carrying chemical weapons from Syria to be destroyed. Bush of the United States Navy. On 8 November , while returning from a NATO exercise , she was navigating inshore waters north of Bergen at speeds of up to Starting from around there was a watch handover on board Helge Ingstad , during which three oncoming vessels were noted.
