Things take time

Lack of materials

Trappers on their way back on board after a good day's work in Newfoundland. (Photo: Hermod Antonsen, NRK)

James Lamont Shipyard

Good British craftsmanship

– but it went out during construction…

Author: Gunnar Myklebust Johannes Bjarne Alme Webjørn Landmark

Created: 20.03.2023

"It wasn't that easy in those days, when there was a shortage of most kinds of materials that were needed, and for that reason there were no Norwegian shipyards that could take on the work. After much back and forth, they got an agreement with James Lamont Shipyard in Port Glasgow, Scotland, even though there was little material.

The engineering firm Lund Mohr & Gjæver-Engen was responsible for the drawings, calculations and construction, but it was not that easy either, because in Norway there were no standards or rules for building steel vessels with full ice class. Only Finland had such rules for building ice-going vessels in the Gulf of Finland, and it was these rules that were used as guidelines for strength calculations. The ship was to be delivered in the summer of 1948, but no binding date had been set, and it dragged on and on. Lamont was probably not one of the most efficient shipyards, and otherwise work morale was quite low in English and Scottish shipyards at that time.

Skipper Sigmund Bøe.

Far from finished

Marø and chief engineer Sigurd Heggem went there and supervised the construction, and they gradually became both tired and hungry. Marø kept complaining that there was too little strength in the hull, but no one would listen to him. On October 11, four men traveled over to help take the ship home. There was helmsman Kristian Ekseth, sailors Olaus Synnes and Anders Hernes and I, Sigmund Bøe, as second mate. First mate Harald Marø and second engineer Paul Lunde had left a week earlier.

When we arrived there, the ship was far from finished, and we were accommodated at the Seamen's Home in Greenock, where we stayed for several weeks.

Somewhat disappointed

I must admit that we were a bit disappointed when we first saw the ship, we had probably expected something a little bigger and more robust. As it lay there at the workshop now, one day it would list slightly to one side, the next day it would list slightly to the other side, and it seemed that very little would be needed to change that.

The work progressed very slowly, but a date was finally set for a technical test run. And the shipowners and other interested parties came over to join in. The run was more or less successful, but there was still a lot to be done before taking over. It was then decided that we would go to Ålesund and have the rest done at Liaaen, and so it was.

A composite crew

It was a somewhat mixed crew that was mustered for the return trip. Martin Rye, who had installed the radio station, was mustered as a telegraphist, Martin Karlsen was an easy seaman, Peter Karlsen was a greaser and a shipbroker from Bergen, whose name I think was Stockfleth, was also a greaser. Engineer Lund from Lund Mohr & Gjæver-Engen was also there, he was certainly a mess boy. (I remember that Peter Karlsen occasionally asked later what position he actually had on the trip, he certainly hadn't been on duty.) Otherwise, there was a decent crew with a skipper and two mates, two sailors, two engineers and a steward.

The trip went quite smoothly, and at Liaaen it didn't take very long to get the remaining work done.

Inappropriate name

It was then that the ship was given a new name. At the time of its launch, it was christened Polar voyage, but someone or other found that this was an inappropriate name, as in English it would be the same as Polarfjert, and it couldn't be done. Worse still, in heeling tests and stability calculations in Port Glasgow they found stability curves that were less good. And heeling tests at Liaaen gave the same results. A lot of heavy equipment was therefore rigged on top of the wheelhouse and in the rigging. And a few tons of steel rails and locobust were placed in the bottom tanks.

Polarstar. Photo: Sigmund Bøe

Very poor material

The ship generally bore the hallmarks of solid, good English craftsmanship, and it received many compliments from experts. But not everything was so good. The worst was the electrical system, which probably would not have been approved if the ship had been built in Norway. All the wiring inside was single-pole wiring, and there were many bad fixtures. Overcurrents and short circuits occurred every now and then when there was flooding and humidity, but better materials were gradually replaced, so for the most part everything went well.”

(From the book "On the Ground of Remembrance" by Sigmund Bøe)

– If there is positive interest in purchasing the ship, I would consider this, as we are aiming to acquire a larger seal catcher in that case. We would then prefer to sell after the end of the fishing season in about April 1950, but if we got a satisfactory price, we would also consider selling now. (Martin Karlsen in a letter to Joachim Grieg in October 1949 after Grieg asked if it was possible to charter Polarfart for fishing trips across the Atlantic over several years, possibly getting an option to buy the ship)