He had sailed into Antarctic waters without informing the responsible Norwegian Polar Institute of his intention. He had not taken sufficient measures to protect the sensitive ecosystem of the south polar region. And he was not adequately insured to pay for the necessary rescue operation. As a result, according to various Norwegian media reports, the police in the northern Norwegian province of Troms have now fined Jarle Andhøy 25,000 kroner. That is the equivalent of just over 3,200 euros.
In February, the "Berserk" was presumably caught in a storm in the Ross Sea and sank. Two Norwegian and one South African crew member were on board. However, the skipper himself, the Norwegian extreme sailor Jarle Andhøy, and another crew member were not on board at the time of the accident, but were travelling overland to the South Pole, which they intended to reach on foot. YACHT had reported on this (see below).
When radio contact with the ship was lost, a search operation was launched, but the ship and crew could no longer be found. Andhøy and his comrade-in-arms abandoned their plan and were taken to a nearby research station, from where they later travelled back to Europe.
Andhøy had only accepted the sentence to avoid any further publicity, which could burden the victims' families.
The Ross Sea is notorious for frequent storms. Sailing yachts, which are the exception in Antarctica anyway, rarely head for this sea area.
In an earlier interview with ExplorersWeb, Andhøy said that his crew had been experienced and that he had been in daily contact with the ship when he was ashore. The last text message he received from on board was as follows: "All good. Boat shipshape and we are now leaving Horseshoe Bay... contact us when you can."
During the investigation into the accident by the Norwegian authorities, Andhøy refused to co-operate and did not accept any questioning. He told the Norwegian newspaper "Dagbladet": "I think it's good that the case is out of the world now. I have accepted the punishment in order to spare the bereaved of the accident."
Jarle Andhøy is a famous sailor in his country and is particularly admired by young people for his unconventional style. He first hit the headlines when he sailed single-handed to South America in a small boat and then travelled from there to the Antarctic. He later attempted to sail through the Northwest Passage, but was prevented from doing so by Canadian authorities. He has also previously been fined for trespassing on polar bear territory on Spitsbergen.
The following videos give an impression of the Norwegian's rather unorthodox style:
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