# Harry Borthen & Co A/S



## Andrew Craig-Bennett (Mar 13, 2007)

I would be interested to learn about this Norwegian independent tanker owning company.

In 1983 CNCo bought the 226,000dwt JAGARDA, in lay up in Eleuisis Bay, from Anders Jahre for US$5M, as a bit of a punt, really. When we eventually sold her ten years later she had taught us a lot about tankers - fortunately she had been built to good standards by people who knew what they were doing. She had begun life as the HARRY BORTHEN for the shipowning company of that name and had been built in Holland. Evidently her delivery in 1975 finished them off, financially, as she went straight into layup. 

I would like to know more about Harry Borthen, who seem to have been an old established Norwegian tanker owner.


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## stein (Nov 4, 2006)

Used to know one person in the family, we went to the same school, and I - with a few others - visted their stone castle in Frogner in Oslo once. Standing on deck on a ship a few years later I watched a green tanker pass the other way with a few others - one fellow read out the name, and I said: "I know the girl she was named after." Nobody believed me, deck hands are not supposed to know shipowner's daughters. Or they weren't at that time anyway. (Jester)

Maybe they went broke in 75, ten years earlier they seemed to be doing well...


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## Andrew Craig-Bennett (Mar 13, 2007)

Brilliant! 

Thanks, Stein!

Actually I am now wondering if they did in fact keep going, as much Googling has turned up a suggestion that they bought the "BP ENTERPRISE" in 1989...but nothing to suggest that they are in business now. Certainly to judge by the ship they built but never traded and which became our "ERISKAY" they knew what they were about.


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## stein (Nov 4, 2006)

The ship i saw in 65, here as Dea Brøvig. (They seem to have had several ships named Nina, so the girl I knew probably was named after her grandmother.) http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=1390191

Here's one with Monrovian flag owned betreen 78 and 82: http://www.lardex.net/FEARNLI/skipstekst/1963fernpark.htm

Here's a ship owned in 1991 as Sea Worker: http://skipshistorie.net/Trondheim/TRH101BachkeCo/TRH10119720200000RUBIROSE.htm

The name of the company at least survives: http://www.onlineguiden.no/firma/harry-borthen-og-co-as-690940 "Ferry transport" another ad says, but here it says overseas with general cargo.


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## Andrew Craig-Bennett (Mar 13, 2007)

Pretty good address!

Thanks once again for your hard work!


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## japottinger (Jun 16, 2004)

Andrew Craig-Bennett said:


> Brilliant!
> 
> Thanks, Stein!
> 
> Actually I am now wondering if they did in fact keep going, as much Googling has turned up a suggestion that they bought the "BP ENTERPRISE" in 1989...but nothing to suggest that they are in business now. Certainly to judge by the ship they built but never traded and which became our "ERISKAY" they knew what they were about.


Connection with you Andrew. At Cowal Eng. in Greenock, a wholly owned Swire Company we built the tank hatches for the Eriskay ex Harry Borthen built by NDSM.
Only ones we ever built with the tank lid packing channel fitted outside the tank lid to clamp on a projecting flange all around the outside of the coaming. They sent over an inspector to buy off, he came complete with white boiler suit, gloves, torch and tin hat. He made us lift up each one so he could stand underneath and check, only thing he did not ask was for a drop test! Someone, tongue in cheek, suggested that in fact that would be a good time for a drop test!.


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## Andrew Craig-Bennett (Mar 13, 2007)

Well, they were good ones! I have been through those tank hatches a few times.

To be honest, the Scottish,( or should I say the Scott's) businesses of the Swire group were a bit of a mystery to us in Hong Kong. We knew there was a connection with Scotts, and we knew that the Clyde Shipping Company came into it, and company folklore recorded that on one occasion CNCo had got itself into hot water, financially, and had been very grateful to receieve a surprise cheque from one of the Scottish businesses, but we all rather thought that we were not encouraged to know more. There was never much contact between Swire Pacific Offshore and Stirling Shipping, for instance. We knew that the reason CNCo bulkers and tankers had names beginning with "E" (Eredine, Erradale, Eriboll...) was to do with the Scott family and company folklore had it that this was because initally CNCo management had sniffed at the idea of lowering themselves to manage tramps, at which point Adrian Swire had said "that was fine and if CNCo did not want the work he knew a company (Wallems) that did" - result amazingly fast leap off high horse by CNCo management!

She was a good ship all round.


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## Andrew Craig-Bennett (Mar 13, 2007)

I've just posted her picture in the tanker gallery.


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