Minna (II)

Devastated by fire during an expedition to Greenland in 1971. The wreck was left lying in a fjord near Færingehavn.

Karl Karlsen and Bernt Marø bought the vessel in Canada /NFLD during World War II as a replacement for Arktos, which sank in the fall of 1940. They immediately flagged the vessel to Norway. The vessel sailed freight in Central America during the war.

"Minna" came to Norway in 1945 with a cargo of flour. Skipper Bernt Marø. Mate was Kristoffer Marø sen.

In the early days after the war, "Minna" was in service for the Finnmarks office. The skipper was Ingolf Røren, and the mate was Bernt R. Brandal.

During the period 1946-1959, "Minna" was in service every summer for the Norwegian Polar Institute in Svalbard and Jan Mayen. The skipper was Ingolf Røren. Bernt A. Brandal continued as mate for a few years. They built up the station at Kapp Linnè in the first days after the war. "Minna" was fitted with radar in 1951 by the manufacturer RCA.

From 1954, "Minna" participated in fishing for large herring in the winter, with Ingolf Røren as skipper and Sverre Moldskred as bass. (Moldskred owned the mill).

From 1960, Karl Karlsen in Halifax used the ship for seismic, shell scraping, whaling, sealing and expeditions.

On an expedition to West Greenland, "Minna" was completely damaged by fire and reported as a shipwreck.

The fire is said to have started at the quay in Færingehavn. The vessel was towed out into the fjord. A naval vessel, possibly French, which happened to be present, participated in the extinguishing. The wreck was later towed into a small fjord arm west of Færingehavn and remained there. (last known observation in the 1990s).

MINNA'S FIRST SEAL TRIP IN 1961

By Ole Christen Røren

Minna was a Nova Scotia schooner built in 1937 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. The ship arrived in Norway in the summer of 1945. Minna was used as a cargo vessel on the coast and was also rigged as a purse seine. But the ship is probably best known as an expedition vessel in Svalbard where she started in the summer of 1946. Minna made her last Svalbard trip to Ny Ålesund in June 1960, a few days before she set sail back to Canada.
The Minna underwent several major reconstructions in the 50s; an extension, two engine changes and a new wheelhouse. And in Tomrefjord in March/April 1960, a skin of grenhart and ironclads was laid on the bow. A winch for trawling was also installed.

On Sunday, June 19, 1960, Minna left Brandal, heading west, to new challenges. The ship arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on July 4 at 2100 and by July 5 at 0300 she was under charter for Mobil Oil of Canada as a seismic vessel at Sable Island in company with another Karlsen boat, Titus. Titus towed the cable and Minna followed and dropped the dynamite.

During a workshop stay in Lunenburg in October 1960, a new rig and top barrel were installed. This was necessary for an Arctic voyage. So on March 1, 1961, they set off for the fishing grounds in the Gulf. They accompanied the company boat Beater, where Laurits Brandal (Smotte Lall) was skipper. There were difficult conditions this year and a lot of bad weather and Beater suffered rudder damage already on March 3. And they took Minna in tow to go into Channel-Port aux Basques on Newfoundland. In the choppy weather, they stumped the tug 3 times and then they rigged it to 30 fathoms with anchor chain and trawl wire and this held. On March 4 at noon, they had come up to land and the tug was to be taken in, there was a soft sea and rolling. A throwing block was placed around the mast down on the deck and they hoisted the tug in so that only the chain was left. Then they got a sea that Beater chased and the chain was tightened. And there, there was Minna's mast lying in three pieces on the deck. Luckily, no one was hurt.
They arrived at Channel-Port aux Basques in the afternoon.

On Sunday, March 5, they got hold of a 40-foot telephone pole and, with the help of a crane, they rigged it up and installed the barrel, and by Monday afternoon they were ready again. However, they remained lying down until Beater was finished repairing, and they both went out into the field again on Tuesday, March 7, in the evening. However, the conditions were bad this year and they remained lying down a lot, and the icebreaker Labrador came several times and took the boats loose. On April 12, the provisions on board Minna ran out.
And on 13 April, 16 men from Minna walked 4 miles until they got on board the Polarstar, where they got provisions for about 8 days. All the ships were now frozen solid, and there was a request for icebreaker assistance. On 19 April they had to send a sick man ashore by helicopter at Minna. And with this helicopter they also got more provisions out.

On April 25, they were released by the icebreaker Labrador. On April 27, they were east of Magelin Island. And there they entered Entri Harbor with a sick man, at the same time they were provisioning and taking provisions for Beater and North Star. The hunting season was over on May 5 and Minna was back in New Harbour on May 7. The first Arctic voyage was not a great success. 650 animals were landed, the quality of the skins was good, it is said. The provisional mast, however, remained standing until the end of July when a new steel mast was installed in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The city is located just north of Halifax. The 1962 season was much better with 2425 animals, but that is another story.