'Noah's ark' takes on Norwegian coastguard and comes off worse

Norwegian officials say a wooden exhibition ship built as a representation of Noah’s ark has struck a coastguard vessel in Oslo harbour, damaging both ships.

Coastguard spokesman Rune Svartsund said the wooden ship was being towed into harbour on Friday morning when it ran into the Nornen, a patrol vessel moored at the quay.

Svartsund said no one was injured but both ships were damaged.

Photographs from the Norwegian news agency NTB show the wooden ship with a large hole above the water line. Svartsund said a crane on board the coastguard vessel was damaged.

According to the Noah’s ark website, the wooden vessel is a 70-metre long, Dutch-built model of the biblical ship and is used as a floating museum.