 On 26 November 1999, only three months after being commissioned, during bad weather, "Sleipner" collided with a rock in the notorious part of the North Sea called "Sletta", just north of the town of Haugesund.The ship sank and 16 of the people on board died.The design of the high-speed catamaran was developed by the Norwegian ferry company "Hardanger Sunnhordlandske Dampskipsselskap" (HSD) in partnership with Paradis Nautica AS of Bergen, based on a desire for increased passenger comfort, speed, and lower operating costs.