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Houseflags of Norwegian maritime companies (S)

Last modified: 2022-02-19 by christopher oehler
Keywords: house flag | shipping: norway |
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Sigval Bergesen

[Sigval Bergesen houseflag]
by Jarig Bakker
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, 1926 [9]

Stavanger - white swallowtail, black anchor
Jarig Bakker, 22 January 2004


Simon Møkster

[Simon Mokster] image by Jarig Bakker, 14 January 2006
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the World [4]

Stavanger - per saltire red and white flag; on white black "SM".
Jarig Bakker, 14 January 2006


Skips A/S Karlander

[Skibs A/S Karlander] image by Jarig Bakker, 23 January 2006
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the World [4]

Oslo - horizontal White-Red-White flag, white "K".
Jarig Bakker, 23 January 2006


Sogn og Fjordane

[Song og Fjordane ferry company] by Jan Oskar Engene

The ferry company of Sogn og Fjordane has a swallow-tailed field with a white rectangle with a blue saltire in the middle.
Jan Oskar Engene, 20 November 1995


The flag of Fylkesbåtane developed from a Norwegian flag signaling system introduced in the early 1800's. This required ships to fly a white flag with a letter corresponding to the town where the ship was registered. The letter for Bergen was X, which is still seen on the Fylkesbåtane flag. The white field soon had borders added, mostly in red and blue, in all sorts of variations. The red borders on the flag of Bergen are an inheritance of this signaling system.
Jan Oskar Engene, 20 March 1996


Solstad Rederi A/S

[Solstad Rederi A/S] image by Jarig Bakker, 14 January 2006
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the World [4]

Skudeneshavn - Spanish style Red-White-Red swallowtail, on white blue "S".
Jarig Bakker, 14 January 2006


Det Söndenfjelds-Norske Dampskibsselskab

Söndenfjeldske

[Flag of Det Söndenfjelds-Norske Dampskibsselskab] image by Jarig Bakker
Source: http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/sonden.htm

Oslo - Red, an eight-pointed blue star, fimbriated white, in the centre (brochure dating from 1930, passenger transport).

[Flag of Det Söndenfjelds-Norske Dampskibsselskab] by Jarig Bakker

[Flag of Det Söndenfjelds-Norske Dampskibsselskab] image located by Jan Mertens; FOTW version by Ivan Sache
Source: Lloyds Flags & Funnels, 1912 [1]

This company - founded in 1854 - is still active, but in another capacity i.e. offshore supply vessels and sub-sea contracting: http://www.dsnd.com/

As you can see, the flag is still there although the fimbriation, certainly, is much smaller.

DSND Inc., as it is now called, has collaborated with Halliburton Subsea to form a new company called Subsea 7 (subsea engineering): http://www.subsea7.com/

DSND is based on the Cayman Islands but still active, for instance, around Norway. Supplementary information here: http://www.under-water.co.uk/2001/052000about4.htm

From the website:

The company DSND has with effect from Monday 12 July 2004 changed its name to SIEM OFFSHORE. The company’s web site can be accessed by the following link: www.siemoffshore.com.

Although the logo is rather pleasing, recalling a Viking sail, it does not come near an old and hallowed flag.
Jan Mertens, 11 June 2005


Star Shipping

[Star Shipping] image by Ivan Sache
Source: http://www.starshipping.com/

The company is based in Bergen and operates 70 ships. The flag is horizontally divided blue-white-blue (1:2:1) with two blue stars in the white stripe.
Ivan Sache, 1 December 2003


Det Stavangerske Dampskibsselskab (DSD) ASA

[Det Stavangerske Dampkibsselskab] image by Ivan Sache
Source: http://www.dsd-asa.com/

flag at Hamburg Exhibition about Hurtigruten
[Stavangerske Dampskipsselskap] image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 January 2009

The company was founded in 1855 as the Stavanger Traders' Association. It was initially a local ferry company and it is today a subsidiary of Folke Hermansen AS. The flag is horizontally divided red-white-red-white-red (2:1:2:1:2) with a blue triangle placed along the hoist and charged with a white star.
Ivan Sache, 2 December 2003

Seat: Stavanger
The company was established on 12 February 1855 in order to operate local services in the Stavanger area. There followed coastal services to Bergen and Oslo, and for a while also the mail service between Kristiansand and Frederikshavn in Denmark. The company joined the coastal express service in 1919 and started a Baltic service in the 1920s. Stavangerske operated a range of activities, from local ferries to cargo servicesand was among the pioneers in fjord-bus vessels and fast-ferries. Its interest in the coastal express line was sold in 1978. In 1991 the company was split: Rogaland Trafikkselskap handled the local services supported by Norwegian government, while Det Stavangerske Dampskibsselskab operated cargo lines and deep-sea shipping.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 May 2017

[Stavangerske Damp. flag] by Jarig Bakker
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, 1926 [9]

Stavanger - like Puerto Rico, with 6-pointed star.
Jarig Bakker, 4 February 2005


S. Stein (Jelø-Linien)

[Stavangerske Damp. flag] by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 25 June 2012

It is a red flag divided by a blue, centred cross. The flag has a white bordure. Source: [el1898]
The flag belongs to a Scandinavian Company, because "Linien" is plural with definite article, realized as suffix. As the "oe" is not like German "ö", it can’t be Swedish. Because of the blue cross my favourite is Norwegian, but as no further information is given, it might be Danish (or Islandic?) as well.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 25 June 2012

I have found 3 mentions online for Jelø-Linien in the Norwegian newspaper "Aftenposten" for 11.11.1891, 28.2.1892 and 29.6.1902, operating a ferry service between Christiana and Hamburg. The ads give Westergaard & Co. of Christiana as the principal, possibly in the capacity of agents or managers whilst S. Stein is given as the "Expeditør" in Hamburg but I cannot get a translation of said "Expeditør" but assume that he operated the  Hamburg end. The ads give the vessels for the service as the "Jelø" and the "Erna" and vessels of these names were owned by R.M.Peterson. There were in fact 3 with the name "Jelø" with the first built 1890 and wrecked 1899, replaced by a bought vessel 1901 sold 1905 replaced by a new vessel built 1907 [and said to be still in service] whilst the "Erna" was built in 1894 and wrecked 1915.
The 3rd "Jelø" is shown by Lloyds 1917-8 as part of the fleet of Rich. Peterson who was involved in ocean shipping from at least 1907 with ships under one ship companies then combining them in 1912 under the single company AS D/S Nordsjøen. Rich. Peterson may have been the R.M. Peterson and expanding his business or he may have been a son or other relation taking over. In the "Aftenposten" for 15.4.1906 the ad is for Jelølinien with S. Stein still the Expeditør in Hamburg but Rich. Peterson is the name at the bottom of the ad which bears a B&W flag image which looks to be the same as that located by Klaus-Michael.
However the coloured version from Lloyds 1912 [ no~richpeterson.jpg ] which is also shown at www.skipet.no shows that the flag for Rich. Peterson added white diamond throughout the cross fesse point. Looks to me like two flags for two [connected] companies both Norway.
Neale Rosanoski, 30 June 2012

The line sailed between Hamburg and Christiana (Oslo). It existed in the late 18-hundreds and early 19-hundreds, I think, run by Westergaard & Co.. At the Hamburg side, business was handled by S. Stein. Though Westergaard were still in business half a century later, I don't have their house flag documented anywhere, so I don't know whether this was their house flag or a specific flag for the line. It's interesting to note, however, that the national Norwegian flag is a red field with a blue cross as well, if an offset cross with a white border.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 01 July 2012

I didn't find the word "Expeditør" bur "Ekspedition" in a Danish-German Red Dictionary publ. by Gyldendal. The translation is "Abfertigung, Bedienung, Erledigung", which means Neil is right. The "Expeditør" then is the one doing the "Ekspedition". A suitable English term then would "agent".
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 02 July 2012

We already knew that S. Stein is merely the shipping agent in Hamburg. ("Expeditør" [o/] means "shipping agent".) But now I've also found the change of the Norwegian agency that Neal derived from his information, and it's quite telling.
Aftenposten 15 October 1904 contains the following announcement:

"Jelølinien.
Fra 15de ds. vil D'hrr. Westergaard & Co. ophøre at expedere Jeløliniens Skibe og vil Expeditionen overtages af min Søn Ingeniør Rich. Peterson, Contor Skippergaden 17 e. Telef. 8844. Telegr. adr. "Jelø".
R.M. Peterson."
Source: http://www.nb.no/utlevering/nb/b3e0ee71e74ea449967bc46eb76db558.

This gives us the relation between the Peterson-s, and indicates that Westergaard & Co. in turn were just agents. And the fact that R.M. Peterson announces this, rather than either of the agents, confirms that he is the owner of the line. Since all his other lines seem to have Moss as their home port, I'd say this line is Norwegian as well. (It would also explain why a line Christiania-Hamburg would be called  "Jelølinien".)
For now, let's assume that the flag is specifically that of Jelø-Linien, as that's what both the German chart and Neal's source use it for. (I couldn't find the Aftenposten of 15 April 1906 that has the ad Neal mentioned, but I did find the same ad in Aftenposten 220 - 14 April 1906: http://www.nb.no/utlevering/nb/072f5c002d6d9db34516aa84ee820711.) It might be that it's the flag of all R.M. Peterson operations instead, but we won't know until we find a flag for one of his other lines. Either way, it would make sense for his son to use a defaced version for his own shipping activities.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 02 July 2012


Storesund-rederi

[Storesund Rederi]
image by Ivan Sache, 16 December 2013 and Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 17 January 2014

Josef Nuesse's "Ships and Flags" website shows the house flag of Storesund Rederi, a Haugesund-based company, as white with two thin horizontal yellow lines in the middle, interlaced with black lines forming a stylized "S".
Source: http://www.flagpole.de/reedereiflaggen/europa/nordeuropa/
Ivan Sache, 16 December 2013

This would appear to be Storesund-rederi, or a name like that. The flag is shown in this article from 2006 about the new Storesund tankrederi, expected to sail under the flag of the "Storesund-rederi".
The flag is also shown as an illustration for this article about a ship from "Storesund rederi" where two stowaways were discovered on board.
"Storesund" in the company name, BTW, doesn't seem to refer to Storesund in Hordaland, but is rather the family name of the owners.
I slightly changed the image so stripes and S touch on all sides, without white showing between them. White a black S formed by straight  lines, with with two yellow lines filling up the openings and continuing as horizontal lines throughout.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 17 January 2014


Stove Shipping

[Stove Shipping]
image by Ivan Sache, 16 December 2013

Josef Nuesse's "Ships and Flags" website shows the house flag of Stove Shipping, an Oslo-based company, as horizontally divided blue-white-blue with a red star in the middle.
Source: http://www.flagpole.de/reedereiflaggen/europa/nordeuropa/
Ivan Sache, 16 December 2013


J.P. Strøm Shipping A/S

[Strøm Shipping] image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 May 2017

Johan P. Strøm came from Hitra and started his career in shipping in Trondheim after an eight years apprenticeship in Scotland. In 1867 he established his own shipping and logistics company. After having worked as agent he go his first own ship in 1970 and opened a line service to England. Later he became a joint partner of British Ellerman Wilson Line. Finally in 1977 100% (of the shares?) were overtaken and the trade mark Stream Line was established. At the same time a line to Antwerp and Rotterdam was started. There were enormous implications for freighting business in the North Sea and Norwegian coasts. In 1998 Strøm began negotiations with Seatrans in Bergen and in 1999 he bought the shipping company and its line business.
http://www.jps.no/35530/3974/34677-54304.html
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 May 2017


Sundbusserne

[Sundbusserne houseflag] image by António Martins

This company was operating its ships under Norwegian registry and had the Norwegian flag hoisted on the rear staff. Two other flags were hoisted from cables in midship, the Danish flag in starboard and the Swedish in the port side.
António Martins, 21 October 1999


Sundbusserne is no longer running Norwegian colours. They flagged over to the Swedish ship registry and they are are flying Swedish flag since September 2001.

A passenger ship traditionally fly small national flag of the port city she left and the port city she is heading for at some high point midships, usually the mast.
Morten Øen, 20 December 2001


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