Last modified: 2021-08-25 by 
christopher oehler
Keywords: house flag | shipping: norway | hurtigruten asa | hurtigruten route |
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Though the distance makes it difficult to
discern all details, from what I can see, the ship in today flies a white
flag with the red and white Hurtigruten logo. This observation is confirmed
by the registry of funnels and house flags kept by the
Norwegian Shipping History Society (document no longer
available).
Jan Oskar Engene, 26 February 2008
In 1882 Captain Richard With, later the founder of the coastal express
service (Hurtigruten) and pilot Andreas Holte had precisely recorded their
sails alongside the North Norwegian coast. In 1891 With gained a concession
for the route on condition that he secured also the mail service to the
remote North. In 1893, after he had established Vesteraalens
Dampskibsselskab (VDS), he sailed first from Trondheim to Hammerfest. He
needed only 67 hours. At the end of the 19th century there existed three
postal shipping lines, one from Trondheim to Hammerfest, another one from
Bergen to Hammerfest, and the third from Hammerfest eastbound to Vadsø. In
1908 this line was extended to Kirkenes. Already in 1898 the line in the
South was extended from Bergen to Stavanger. But due to the development of
road connections and railways in the South it was removed in 1919.
WW2
was a disaster for the line, as many ships were either captured or sunk. The
line had to use fishing trawlers instead.
Until the end of the 1970ies
the line was the only supplier of some locations in the North and thus
received high subsidies from the Norwegian government. Due to modern
technology and shortening of wait time the number of ships could be reduced
from 14 down to 11 in the 1980ies. In 1984 the postoffices on the ships were
closed. During the following years the line turned more and more to a cruise
line for tourists.
Ofotens og Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab (OVDS) and
Troms Fylkes Dampskibsselskap (TFDS) merged on 1 March 2006 as the
Hurtigruten Group, which was renamed Hurtigruten ASA in 2007.
Source:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurtigruten
Klaus-Michael
Schneider, 8 May 2017
(Ed: The links below go to other pages in FOTW)
A number of companies have participated through the more than one hundred years the line has been in operation:
Jan Oskar Engene, 26 February 2008
Hurtigruten literally means "fast track" and was the name of a line transporting mail from Bergen to the northern parts of Norway up to Kirkenes by ship. Meanwhile Hurtigruten also carries tourists and, as far as I know, their ships are partially registered in Nassau (Bahamas).
Hurtigruten is a conglomerate of several shipping companies.
Those are:
![[Bergenske Dampskibsselskab]](../images/n/no~bds.gif)
image by Jan Oskar Engene
Established 12 December 1851 in Bergen. (no image, is already depicted on our pages)
Seat: Bergen
The company was established on 12 December 1851 to
undertake services between Bergen and Hamburg. On year later the its first
ship was bought, the paddle steamer “BERGEN”. Over the years Bergenske
became the leading steamship company in Norway, running regular services to
the continent, Great Britain, the Baltic, Iceland, and later even cruise and
overseas cargo services. Between the 1920ies and 1960ies the company had
about 2,500 employees and 30 – 40 ships.
The company went through a
difficult transition in the 1970ies. In order to free reserves for new
investments, its 4 coastal express liners were sold to Troms Fylkes
Dampskibsselskab (TFDS) in 1979. The company was raided by speculators and
in 1984 the majority passed to the Kosmos group. Bergenske became the Kosmos
transport division until it was sold in December 1988 to RoNoTro A/S, a
company owned by TFDS, Saltens and Stavangerske. The activities were split
among the new owners, with the Nor-Cargo transport group as the major
reminder.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 May 2009
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 January 2009
Established 12 February 1855 in Stavanger.
Description of flag: The flag looks similar to the flag of Puerto Rico. It is a horizontal 5-stripes flag of alternating red and white stripes, the red ones perhaps slightly smaller, with a dark blue triangle at the hoist having a white 5-point star.
![[Det Nordenfjeldske Dampskibs]](../images/n/no~nfds.gif)
image by Jarig BakkerEstablished.28 January 1867 in Trondheim.
Seat: Trondheim
Established on 28 January 1857 by merchants of
Trondheim, the company commenced a steamship line to Hamburg. The company
co-operated with Bergenske. Both companies remained close allies and rivals
for more than a century, operating coastal services in Norway, lines to
Hamburg and Newcastle, coastal tourist cruises and later on a cargo line
between Great Britain and the Mediterranian, as well as deep-sea shipping
and cruise. After Norcem gained the majority of shares in 1984, the company
was split. Nordenfjeldske Shipping A/S was to Kosmos in April 1985 and
formally reduced to a subsidiary of Bergenske. The remaining activities were
included in the sale of Bergenske to RoNoTro in December 1988, and its own
two coastal express liners were transferred to TFDS in August 1989.
The
symbol in the centre flag is an old symbol of Trondheim city since the 9th
century, a similar version having five petals is on the nowadays city flag
of Trondheim.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 January 2009
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 January 2009
Established 1 October 1888 in Tromsø.
Description of flag: It is a dark blue flag, fimbriated white and red. Within a blue field are white capital letters, one capital in each corner "TFDS" around a white 5-point star in the centre.
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 January 2009
Established 10 November 1881 in Stokmarknes.
Description of flag: It is a celestial blue flag with a white edge and divided per bend by a white
ribbon containing red capitals "VDS".
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 January 2009
The company was established on 10 November 1881 in Stokmarknes, initiated
by Richard With. Richard With had the vision, to connect the sparsely
populated North of the county with the South. He was the only one, who dared
to sail the way from Bergen to Hammerfest night and day and during the
winter months. The isolated villages alongside the coast of Lofoten and
Vesteraalen islands badly needed transportation of the fish, caught in the
region, as well as the supply with consume and economic goods, which
couldn’t be produced on location. In 1893 a regular coastal service between
Senja, Vesteraalen, Lofoten and Bergen was established. In addition the
company operated local services in Lofoten and Vesteraalen and a cargo line
between Oslo and Northern Norway, later on also deep-sea shipping. Ofotens
Dampskibsselskab acquired the share majority in 1985, and on 1 January 1988
the companies merged, establishing the Ofotens and Vesteraalens
Dampskibsselskab (OVDS). Today there is an OVDS branch office in Stokmarknes.
Klaus-Michael Schneider,
10 May 2017
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 January 2009
Established 13 July 1916 in Hammerfest.
Description of flag: It is a dark blue flag with a capital "F" of the same colour within a white lozenge and fimbriated white and red at the top and bottom edge.
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 January 2009
Established 13 August 1927 in Bodø.
Description of flag: It is a dark blue flag with white serifed capitals "NDS" and fimbriated white and red at the top and bottom edge.
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 January 2009
Established 24 July 1912 in Narvik.
Description of flag: It is red flag with a white stripe at the top and bottom edge. In the red field is a white lozenge with a black capital "O".
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 January 2009
The company has at least a table flag, but I believe they nowadays use a white flag with the company logo, while the funnels are black with the company logo.
Description of flag: It is a white flag with a red disc in its centre. Within the disc are to white rectangles and a triangle forming a kind of "H", all above a white wave.
Source: exhibition of Hurtigruten at the Levantehaus in Hamburg
on 27 February 2007.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 January 2009
Well, if you ever plan to go up north
Take the sea way, that is THE way to go forth
Cause without fail
The Hurtigrute'll sail.From Bergen all the way to Kirkeness
It's a 1400 sea mile trip, no less
But, without fail
The Hurtigrute'll sail.Ålesund's a short stay
In Trondheim the next day
Once Nesna is gone
There will be Midnight SunSvolvær in the Lovoten
In Stokmarknes the ships are at home
In Hammerfest be an Ice Bear
In Honningsvåg the Cape's nearThen Kjøllefjord, Båtsfjord,
Vardø and Vadsø, you'll see
To take a trip along the coast
It's the sea route that is THE route that's the most
Cause, without fail
The Hurtigrute'll sail.
The route for a long time was sailed by a number of companies, but over
time some of those dropped out while others merged. The final merger in
2005 has left a single company, that is now called Hurtigruten ASA.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 26 February 2008