Alfred Edward

The first time they went seal hunting was in 1903 to the Austisen. They went out on April 6th and returned from a good trip on July 11th with 2226 seals and 335,5 barrels of blubber worth 12.440,37 kroner.

The following year, in 1904, The ship arrived in Hammerfest on August 23rd with a catch from the East Sea of ​​315 seals, 26 walruses, 13 dead and 2 live polar bears, and 200 barrels of blubber.

In 1906 the catch was 318 seals, 11 walruses, 3 dead polar bears and 130 barrels of blubber. 

1928 was the year of the great shipwreck in the White Sea. 86 ships were registered for fishing there that year. No other fishing ground has had so many ships sunk. In the period from 1924 until fishing was ended in the White Sea in 1939, 60% of all shipwrecks occurred in this area. 115 ships went down in a 15-year period. In 1928, 11 (!) ships sank here in one day.

Sunday, March 18, 1928, it was "Kvitbjørn" (ex "Alfred Edvard"). There was a storm from the south-southwest with strong winds, the ice pressed together into large ice fields around "Kvitbjørn" and the three other ships that were nearby. The crew worked hard to keep the ice clear of the rudder, but they were unsuccessful and the rudder was taken off the ice. Although the hull still looked intact, the crew still considered the ship lost.

The next morning the ice pressure increased, and a large foot of ice came through the ship's side amidships. The pumps were immediately started, but the water rose rapidly in the ship, and by 2 o'clock the sea was above the blubber tanks in the hold. The bulkhead amidships was blown out, and the crew had to abandon ship immediately. They took some provisions and equipment with them and walked on the ice. They then made their way to the "Ravnen" and "Åland" which were anchored about 200 meters from them. But both of these ships had so much damage that the crew moved on to the "Lance" which was about 8 quarter miles away. The sinking occurred about 28 quarter miles south-southwest of Cape Kanin. "Ravnen" and "Åland" also sank, and the three crews later made it to Youkanski on the Murmansk coast.