Nortraship
The Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission was established in London in April 1940 to administer the Norwegian merchant fleet outside German-controlled areas. Nortraship operated some 1,000 vessels and was the largest shipping company in the world. It made a major contribution to the Allied war effort.
The British politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 1959, Philip Noel-Baker commented after the war, "The first great defeat for Hitler was the battle of Britain. It was a turning point in history. If we had not had the Norwegian fleet of tankers on our side, we should not have had the aviation spirit to put our Hawker Hurricanes and our Spitfires into the sky. Without the Norwegian merchant fleet, Britain and the allies would have lost the war".
Nortraship had its main offices in London and New York City and was active during World War II. Nortraship was vital to Norway and the exile government as it lacked other means to support the Allied fight against the Axis powers. The organisation handed the various vessels back to their owners when Norway was liberated in May 1945.
Norwegian merchant fleet prior to World War II
In the years after World War I the Norwegian merchant fleet recouped its losses and expanded into new sectors, primarily tankers but also dry cargo vessels. The 1930s, in particular, were a growth period, in contrast to the other major shipping nations. By the end of 1938, some 7% of world tonnage was Norwegian and Norway was the fourth-largest shipping nation, behind the UK, the US and Japan. Moreover, the expansion was based on new building, thus lowering the median age of Norwegian vessels. Most of the new vessels were powered by diesel motors; they accounted for some 62% of the fleet, while Japan had some 27%, and the UK 25%. Around 42% of the fleet was modern tankers, a total of 18% of the world tanker tonnage. Norwegian shipowners were innovative and willing to take risks in ordering new vessels during the depression.The various services needed for operation of ships had also been expanded, the most important being the classification society Det Norske Veritas but also shipbrokers, insurance companies and shipping banks. The government also played an important part in establishing and updating regulations, and in providing schools for engineers and navigators.
The forgotten war, 3 September 1939 – 9 April 1940
When Norway was invaded by Germany on 9 April 1940, the merchant fleet had been at war for seven months. Norway was neutral, but lost 58 ships and around 400 sailors. During these months much of the framework that Nortraship was to operate within was created; most importantly the Norwegian-British tonnage agreement. Called the Scheme Agreement, this stated that a percentage of the Norwegian fleet, including two thirds of the tanker tonnage, was to go on charter to Britain. In return, Norway would receive important commodities. This agreement alleviated the British problem of access to the Norwegian fleet, especially the tankers, which they regarded as of "exceptional importance". To protect Norwegian neutrality, the agreement was negotiated between the British government and the Norwegian Shipowners Association.These negotiations showed the dual nature of the Norwegian merchant fleet: it was a huge asset and also was vital to both the belligerent factions. It was necessary to tread carefully to safeguard Norwegian neutrality but to maintain the close commercial relationship with Britain. Norway's policy during World War I had been labelled that of the silent ally, and the Norwegian government wanted to continue along the same lines in World War II.
The reasons for Norway being so important for the Allies were the relative decline of the British merchant fleet, overly optimistic prewar tonnage planning and the US Neutrality Act, which effectively forbade US vessels from entering the war zone. The only other nation with a comparable merchant fleet was Netherlands, but they strongly rejected any tonnage agreement for fear of German reprisals.
The Norwegian government also established contingency plans for alerting vessels in case of war. To reduce the risk of being torpedoed, most Norwegian vessels followed British convoys. The added safety was not without problems, as Norway as a neutral country thus was close to siding with one of the belligerents. The convoying regime reflected Norway's dependence on Britain, as had been the case during World War I.
Norway invaded and Nortraship established
With the German invasion of Norway, the question of control of the Norwegian merchant fleet became critical, and the Norwegian government, the British government and the Germans were the main contenders. Around 15% of the total fleet was within the German-controlled area and was lost to the Allies; the battle would be for the remaining 85% sailing worldwide.The British contemplated confiscating the Norwegian merchant fleet, as they did with the Danish fleet, but decided against it because the Norwegians continued to fight and because of intervention by the Norwegian ambassador in London. The Germans and their Norwegian collaborator, Vidkun Quisling, radioed to Norwegian vessels to sail for German-controlled waters, but the Norwegian masters ignored the orders.
To counter German pressure, on 12 April the British Ministry of Shipping negotiated an agreement with the Norwegians that temporarily settled insurance problems for the Norwegian fleet, contingent on vessels sailing for Allied harbours, and this was radioed by the British Admiralty to all Norwegian merchant vessels. The next question was how the fleet was to be administered; the Norwegian ambassador was hard pressed on the issue by both Britain and Norwegian shipowners in London. The British government wanted to take control of the Norwegian vessels, but Norwegian shipping professionals in London favoured an independent Norwegian organisation. The issue had to be decided by the Norwegian government; it was, however, difficult to communicate with it as the government was fleeing the advancing German forces.
On 16 April, a meeting of Norwegian shipping professionals was held in the Norwegian chamber of commerce in London, where a detailed plan for an organisation for the merchant fleet was presented. The Norwegian ambassador, Erik Colban, and shipowner Ingolf Hysing Olsen were presented with the plan but were leaning towards a joint solution with the British Ministry of Shipping. The shipping professionals argued that a more independent organisation would be in a better position to safeguard Norwegian interests and the revenue from the fleet. As Colban and Hysing Olsen accepted this view, Nortraship was quickly set up on 19 April with the renting of offices at 144 Leadenhall Street in the City, and the following day, 20 April, the first shipping experts moved in.
File:NorwegianNavyMemorial.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Memorial to members of the Royal Norwegian Navy, Army and Merchant Marine in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the flag plaza outside the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.The Norwegian government now came forward with a cable that stated that the merchant fleet was to be administered jointly from London and New York. This was a surprise for the Norwegian ambassador in London, and the British government was not in favour. British pressure resulted in the Norwegian government, in a meeting on 22 April at Stuguflåten in Romsdal, adopting a decree that would requisition the Norwegian merchant fleet for the Norwegian government. The administration should be in London and be led by Øivind Lorentzen, Norwegian Minister of Shipping. By that act, the largest shipping company in the world was created, with more than 1,000 vessels and around 30,000 seamen.
London: the early days
The main challenges for the new organisation were to take control of the around 1,000 vessels and to establish policies for working with Britain and the neutral US. There was a severe lack of qualified personnel, and those available were often vocal and determined and used to working independently. That several of the Nortraship staff had their own shipping interests to take care of further added to the problems of managing the organisation.The top management was almost exclusively Norwegian, while the lower ranks were dependent on British and US personnel. An exception was the accounts department; a major British accounting firm staffed it. In October 1940 Nortraship had 230 employees in London; by October 1941 this was increased to 350, one-third Norwegians. At the same time, Nortraship New York had over 200 personnel, more than half of them Norwegians.
There were also legal problems to be solved, most crucially, whether Nortraship could have at its disposal vessels owned by shipowners still in occupied Norway. That could be solved by the Norwegian government appointing "a curator to act on behalf of the Norwegian Owners". If that was not done, Nortraship vessels could be impounded in neutral harbours, such as in the US. After some discussion, the Norwegian government declared by law on 18 May 1940 that Øivind Lorentzen was to act as curator.
The insurance problems remained to be solved, as the initial British offer was provisional. The vessels needed several categories of insurance, and they were cut off from the insurance provided by insurance companies in occupied Norway, as was the case for the main office of the classification society, the DNV. On 28 May 1940, Øivind Lorentzen signed a "Memorandum of Understanding" with the British Ministry of Shipping that solved the insurance issue for a period of three months. This MoU was to be the foundation for insurance agreements for the rest of the war. The classification problem was solved by Nortraship taking over the DNV branch offices around the world, coordinated from the DNV office in Newcastle upon Tyne.
As the fighting in France evolved disastrously, the British pushed for more tonnage and to harmonise wages: Norwegian seamen were paid significantly more than British. For political reasons, Nortraship received preferential treatment with an agreement signed on 20 June 1940. Reducing the Norwegian seamen's wages solved the problem of unequal wages; the surplus was to be placed in a fund to be paid out after the war.