It was the Arctic ship "Brattind" from Tromsø, "Videy" found.

It was between 2 and 6 April 1952 that five ships from Troms and Sunnmøre disappeared without a trace during a hurricane in the Vesterisen. From Troms: "Brattind" with 14 men, "Ringsel" with 14 men and "Vårglimt" with 16 men. From Sunnmøre: "Buskø" with 20 men and "Pels" with 14 men. Ships and aircraft searched for a long time, without making any discoveries that could shed light on the disaster. 71 years later, the Icelandic trawler "Videy" made a wreck discovery. This appears to be the Arctic ship "Brattind".

Managing Director of Ishavsmuseet Aarvak, Webjørn Landmark, calls the discovery of "Brattind" a sensation, and is very pleased that the discovery has come to Ishavsmuseet Aarvak.

– It is a very rare find, and the fact that it appears to be from the 1952 disaster is very moving, says Landmark, adding:
– After 71 years, this is the first discovery of the five ships that disappeared then. This is far more than a wreck, it gives the survivors an answer, and will stand as a lasting memory of the disaster in 1952.

Johannes Alme is the one who has been closest to the work of finding answers to what ship it was. He stated after the wreck was found in the fall of 2023 that it could be from 1952. After studying a lot in recent months, he thinks it is good to finally get answers.
– The answer is a confirmation of what we had found and believed, says Alme, who is clear that this puzzle would never have been solved without good interdisciplinary cooperation in different professional environments.

He explains that the find shows that the crew managed to turn "Brattind", and probably sailed a couple of days before the ship went down.
– When the confirmation of the tree-ring dating from dendrochronologist Andreas Kirchhefer came, there were strong emotions, even tears. It was final, it was not just a wreck. It was a discovery of a ship with 14 men, who had been fighting for their lives for several days. A fight that is beyond our comprehension, says Alme.

Comprehensive identification process

The wreck of the "Brattind" was found early in October 2023. Since then, with the kind help of the shipping company, Icelandic authorities and financial contributions from GC Rieber Fondene, the wreck parts have come to the Ishavsmuseet Aarvak in Brandal. With the discovery in place, the work of identifying the ship entered a new phase. Together with the Fartøyvernsenteret in Hardanger – Morten Hesthammer and Sarah Galberg Sjøgreen, every piece was examined, and it provided very useful information. Here it must be mentioned:

• There were wood fiber boards (huntonite) – which were not produced until after 1932.
• The find included ice skin, skin planks, frames, deck planks, beams, joists, and a slat under the cargo hatch. From this we were able to determine that the hatch was 1,7 x 2,4 meters. By adding together the various parts we were able to determine that the ship's width at the hatch was approx. 6,04 meters (incl. ice skin)
• An oak ice skin plank was found, with four recesses for cast iron. (Mounting for rigging rods.)
• Pine and construction method indicated Norwegian / Westland built ship. (Ref.Fartøyvernsenteret)

With this information, shipwrecks after 1932 with a ship width of around 6 meters were re-examined. The most relevant were the three smallest ships from 1952.
Ever since the discovery became known, the Ishavsmuseet has been working to find construction drawings (as the ships were in 1952) for all five ships that disappeared in 1952. This has not been successful.
• "Pels" was rebuilt in Norway, and slightly narrower than found. (Known width 19,7 English feet and tenths = 6,005m.)
• The Arctic ship "Brattind" was together with the Arctic ship "Arild" on the morning of April 4. The Nautical Declaration stated that "Brattind" probably sank on April 4. This was also mentioned in interviews with others from "Arild". The beam of the ship was the same as the one found. (19,8 English feet and tenths = 6,035 m)
• "Ringsel" was said to be as good as lasta when the hurricane of 1952 came. The beam of the ship is slightly larger than found. (20,1 English feet, and tenths = 6,126 m).
• Of the three ships, only "Brattind" had four masts. The width of the ship and four masts pointed towards "Brattind". The statements from "Arild" created doubt.

Shortly after the visit from the ship protection center, ten different material samples were sent to dendrochronologist Andreas Kirchhefer for tree-ring dating. This was in an attempt to determine the material, growth area, age and year of harvest. After a while, he got several hits that made sense. Three of the pine samples showed that the tree had grown in the area "West or South Norway", with a harvest year in the winter of 1890/91. The oak log with the four spurs was harvested in the winter of 1951/52. Furthermore, there were two hits on spruce, harvested at the earliest in 1924/25, and after 1940. With the finds in 1951/52, all earlier shipwrecks have been ruled out.
Based on the physical findings, together with the age, we can determine that the wreck is the Arctic ship "Brattind".

The much-talked-about steering wheel was probably installed during the conversion in 51/52, and the ship sank on its first voyage. This means that no one has any experience with the steering wheel.

The place where the wreck was found is the burial place of 14 Norwegian sealers.
Ishavsmuseet Aarvak will open the exhibition of the find on Monday, May 27. In that context, the museum will provide further information about the find.

Briefly about "Brattind": Built in Strandebarm in 1891. Formerly named "August Jakobsen". Taken over by the Germans in 1940. The ship was deleted from the merchant register in 1946.

In 1951 the ship was taken over by Erling Corn Pettersen with several others from enemy property. The ship was rebuilt and reinforced at Danielsen's shipyard and boatyard at Finnsnes in 1951/52, and was ready for Vesterisen in 1952. The ship had a protruding stem, but retained the cutter stern. The length was 70,7 feet long, 19,8 for width and 8,3 feet deep. Engine was 100 hp. Gross tonnage: 88.08, Nrt 33,67.