Norwegian America Line

The Norwegian America Line (Norwegian: Den Norske Amerikalinje), was a shipping line, originally an operator of ocean liners and cargo ships. Founded in 1910, the company ran a regular transatlantic service between Norway and the United States, and later included a route to East Africa as well. Primarily due to competition from air travel, transatlantic passenger voyages were slowly discontinued during the years.

Norwegian American Line
IndustryCargo and passenger shipping
Founded1910
Defunct1995
FateDefunct
HeadquartersOslo
Key people
Gustav Henriksen
SubsidiariesNorwegian East Africa Line
Passenger's car being loaded onto the MS Skiensfjord in New York in 1962

After the Great War, the company was one of Norway’s largest shipping lines, owning a fleet that included 19 vessels, several of which were for commercial cargo transport. After the Second World War heavy ships losses were overcome by the building of new vessels, however the reduction in the passengers’ traffic by sea shifted the company’s focus mainly to the cargo business, including container and bulk shipping from the 1970s.

In 1980 the last two passenger liners were handed over into a new joint venture company (Norwegian American Cruises) with Leif Höegh & Co, and finally sold to Cunard Line in 1984.

During the 1990s NAL main business were the Roll-on/roll-off operations and sea carriage of cars, through the NOSAC brand (Norwegian Specialised Autocarcarriers), with a fleet of nearly 20 vessels, then acquired by Wilh. Wilhelmsen in 1995.[1]

Ships

List sourced from[2][3]

Passenger ships
ShipBuiltIn service for NAL ShipyardTonnageNotes
SS Kristianiafjord19131913–17 Cammell Laird in Birkenhead UK.10,699 GRTSunk 1917.
SS Bergensfjord19131913–40 Cammell Laird in Birkenhead UK.10,666 GRTReused by Britain in 1940.
SS Stavangerfjord19171917–40
1945–64		 Cammell Laird in Birkenhead UK.12,977 GRTCaptured by Germany in 1940, returned to NAL in 1945. Scrapped 1964.
MS Oslofjord (1937)19381938–40 Deutsche Schiff- und MaschinenbauGermany18,673 GRTSunk after hitting a mine on the River Tyne, 1940.[4]
MS Oslofjord (1949)19491949–67 Netherlands Dock and Shipbuilding Company16,844 GRTChartered to Greek Line 1967. From 1968 onwards sailed for Costa Cruises.Caught fire and sank 1970 off Tenerife, Canary Islands.
MS Bergensfjord (1955)19561956–71 Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, UK18,739 GRTSold to French Line as De Grasse, 1971. Caught fire, and sank in 1980. Wreck still visible at Pireaus, Greece.[5]
MS Sagafjord19651965–83 Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, France24,002 GRTSold to Cunard Line 1983. Sold to Saga Cruises 1997 and renamed Saga Rose. Scrapped 2009.
MS Vistafjord19731973–83 Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom24,292 GRTSold to Cunard Line in 1983. Renamed Caronia in 1999. Sold in 2004, renamed Saga Ruby for Saga Cruises. Scrapped 2017.

Other ships
ShipBuiltIn service for NALTypeTonnageNotes
SS Trondhjemsfjord19111914–15ocean liner4,248 GRTSunk 28 July 1915 by torpedo.
SS Norefjord19191921–49cargo ship3,082 GRTRan aground, captured and beached by rebels, shelled by the Indonesian Navy and burnt out 1958. Scrapped 1966.
SS Foldenfjord19211921–28tanker ship7,038 GRTSunk by Japanese submarine I-25 on October 5, 1942.
SS Mari
SS Oslofjord		19231923
1923–30		215 GRT
MS Skiensfjord 1958 1958–77 freighter, few passengers 3,787 GRT Sold to Southalnd Maritime Inc. v/Diamantides Maritime Co. Ltd, Pireus, Greece 1977 and renamned Diamant. Sold to Jebel Ali National Marine, Dubai, UAE 1980 and renamed Jebel Ali 2. Sold to Mohammed Khalifa Bin Salama Al-Hamaly, Dubai, UAE 1983 and renamed Salamah 5. Renamed Al Qasim 1987 & scrapped that year.[6]

Managing directors

Chairmen of the Board

Boutique hotel
The former headquarters is now a boutique hotel.

The former headquarters of the shipping company (1919 – 1983) with ticket office and administration is still an iconic building in central Oslo. It was rebuilt inside and opened in March 2019 as a boutique hotel. The hotel took the name Amerikalinjen.[7]

See also

References
  1. "The Allen Collection|Norway America Line". www.benjidog.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  2. Asklander, Micke. "Norska Amerikalinje A/S". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  3. "Norwegian-America Line". The Ships List. Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  4. "M/S Oslofjord - Norwegian Merchant Fleet 1939-1945". www.warsailors.com.
  5. "Bergensfjord 1956". www.tynebuiltships.co.uk.
  6. "M/S Skiensfjord - Sjøhistorie.no". www.sjohistorie.no. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  7. "Amerikalinjen - Latest boutique hotel in Oslo, Norway". Amerikalinjen. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Norwegian America Line.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.