MV Norsel (1945)

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For other ships with the same name, see MV Norsel.

Norsel during her service in support of the French Antarctic expeditions in the 1955–56 season
History
Name
  • Lyngdalsfjord (1945–49)
  • Norsel (1949–92)
Owner
  • Kriegsmarine (1945)
  • Nordfisk A/S (1949–79)
  • Steinar Jakobsen (1979–89)
  • Statens Fiskarbank (1989–90)
  • Mathisen Fiskebåtrederi A/S (1990–91)
  • Arktisk Marin A/S (1991–92)
Port of registryTromsø, Norway
BuilderKaldnes Mekaniske Verksted in Tønsberg, Norway
Yard number122
Laid down1944
Launched10 April 1945
CompletedOctober 1949
Identification
FateWrecked south-west of Brønnøysund on 19 December 1992, and delivered for scrapping in February the following year
General characteristics
Type
purse seiner
Tonnage592 gross register tons (GRT)
Length50.3 metres (165 ft) overall
Beam9 metres (30 ft)
Installed power
  • 1,080 horsepower (1949–70)
  • 1,200 horsepower (1970–79)
  • 3,000 horsepower (1979–92)
Propulsion
  • 1 MAN 6-cylinder diesel engine (1949–70)
  • 1 MaK diesel engine (1970–79)
  • 1 MaK diesel engine (1979–92)

MV Norsel was a Norwegian sealing ship home ported in Tromsø. Launched during the final weeks of the Second World War as Lyngdalsfjord and only completed in late 1949, the ship sailed in both Arctic and Antarctic waters for more than 53 years until shipwrecking off the coast of Norway in 1992.

Description

The 592 

yard number 122, and was 50.3 metres (165 ft) long overall, with a beam of 9 metres (30 ft). Her length between perpendiculars was 45 metres (148 ft).[1] Originally intended to be powered by a steam engine, the vessel, when completed, instead had a single 1,080 horsepower MAN 6-cylinder diesel engine.[2] In addition to the main engine, Norsel had a 35-horsepower auxiliary engine.[3]

The ship was rebuilt at Tromsø Shipyard in 1966, having her superstructure and internal fittings replaced. Four years later, in 1970, the ship's engine was replaced with a 1,200 horsepower engine from

purse seiner, while continuing in use as a sealer.[4] Further rebuilding of the ship took place in the 1980s at Kaarbø Shipyard in Harstad, where Norsel was lengthened and equipped with a factory for the processing of shells.[5]

History

The vessel was launched as Lyngdalsfjord on 10 April 1945.[1] Lyngdalsfjord was one of five icebreaking tugs ordered for the Kriegsmarine by the German occupiers of Norway in 1944. None of the five vessels were completed before the end of the Second World War.[6]

The incomplete Lyngdalsfjord was bought in 1948 by the Tromsø-based polar hunting company Nordfisk A/S, and towed to Flensburg in Germany for completion as a sealing and expedition ship.[7] The vessel was completed as Norsel in October 1949. She remained in the ownership of Nordfisk for the next 30 years. Although sold first in 1979 to Steinar Jakobsen, then in 1989 to Statens Fiskarbank, in 1990 to Mathisen Fiskebåtrederi A/S and in 1991 to Arktisk Marin A/S, she retained the name Norsel and remained home ported in Tromsø.[1]

Norsel participated in a number of Antarctic voyages in the mid twentieth century. The first of these was with the

Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1954–55, transporting goods to Graham Land in the British Antarctic Territory. Next, Norsel supported the French Antarctic expeditions of Paul-Émile Victor from 1955 to 1961, completing seven voyages to Adélie Land. Norsel on two occasions circumnavigated the world while operating in support of the French. In all, the ship journeyed 10 times to Antarctica in the years 1949–61.[10][11][12][13]

When not employed in the

Eastern Greenland and Iceland in the 1955–56 season. The surveys were carried out in connection with an American expansion of airbases and missile systems in the Arctic. In the 1950s and 1960s, she also served as a support vessel for the Norwegian sealers in the West Ice, and carried tourists and researchers on cruises to Svalbard. Due to her extensive service in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, Norsel was affectionately nicknamed "Polarbussen" ("the Polar Bus").[11][14]

Outside of her polar work, Norsel was chartered by the British

shrimp trawler fleet off Svalbard as a refuelling and service ship.[5] By late August 1972, when the ship ran aground and was damaged, Norsel had been assigned the code letters LDQJ.[15] Some nine years later, in September 1981, Norsel was damaged in an accidental collision with another vessel.[16]

Norsel ran aground off the coast of Helgeland, south-west of Brønnøysund, Norway (65°24′N 11°58′E / 65.400°N 11.967°E / 65.400; 11.967) on 19 December 1992. Damaged beyond repair, the ship was delivered to a breaker's yard in Molde, Norway, in February 1993.[1][5]

Legacy

In connection with the Norwegian–British–Swedish Antarctic Expedition, the

Norsel Point, near Arthur Harbour in the British Antarctic Territory was named after the vessel following Norsel's work on behalf of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1954–55.[18] The road Norselvegen in Tromsdalen, Tromsø is also named after the ship.[5]

Norsel appeared on a

French Antarctic Territory in 1981[19] and on a 10p stamp of the British Antarctic Territory in 1993.[20]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d "Norsel (5256616)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  2. ^ Hansen 1996, pp. 93–94
  3. ^ Hansen 1996, p. 103
  4. ^ Hansen 1996, p. 97
  5. ^ a b c d Hansen 1996, p. 98
  6. ^ Hansen 1996, p. 91
  7. ^ Hansen 1996, p. 93
  8. ^ a b Hansen 1996, p. 94
  9. ^ Hansen 1996, p. 104
  10. ^ Hansen 1996, pp. 94–95, 115–125
  11. ^ a b Hansen 1996, p. 114
  12. ^ "MV Norsel". Australian Antarctic Data Centre. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  13. ^ "Ken Blaiklock O.B.E." by David Mountfort, Polar Post, Vol. 46, No. 4, December 2014, pp. 92–93.
  14. ^ a b Hansen 1996, p. 95
  15. ISBN 82-537-0232-9
    . Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  16. ISSN 0332-8007
    . Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  17. ^ "Norsel Iceport". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  18. ^ "Norsel Point". Australian Antarctic Data Centre. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  19. ISBN 0852596227
  20. ISBN 0852595794

Bibliography
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