Soløy

Owner	1945 Olav Hjertaker 1946 Karl Nicolaisen, Tromsø 1951 Sigmund Snarby and Karl Nicolaisen, Tromsøysund 1967 Arvid Salomonsen, Tromsdalen
Ship type	Seal hunters
Reg. brand	H-30-T (1945) T-30-T (1946)
Home port	Tromsø
Construction site	Built by Olav Hjertaker and Samuel Nordahl, Onarheim in Tysnes
Year built	1945
Building materials	Three
Length, year of construction	50,5 feet
Length measurements after conversion	59,2 feet 1949
Dimensions in width, year of construction	15,6 feet
Dimensions in width after conversion	17,2 feet 1949
Dimensions in depth, year of construction	6,4 feet
Depth measurements after reconstruction	7,7 feet 1949
Tonnage	24,95 GRT 1945 39,32 GRT 1949 49,87 GRT 1951
Machine, original	Union 50 hp
Machine, new	1951 120 hp Wichmann
Skippers	Arvid Salomonsen, (1957-)
Reconstructions Shipyard	1949 extended and rebuilt and new superstructure at Aronsens shipyard, Risøyhamn 1951 new owner's house, new cabin and mess
Shipwrecked	Wrecked July 19, 1970 on the way to the North Ice
Additional information	"Soløy" first went on a seal hunt in the North Ice in 1946. It was not a good debut on this first trip, they came home with 94 seals and 6 polar bears, 2 of which were alive. In 1947 things would go much better and they then delivered 2170 seals after the hunt in the North Ice. In 1949, "Soløy" was extended, rebuilt and given a new superstructure by Aronsens Shipbuilding. After this reconstruction, the ship was renamed "Tåkeheimen". However, after a short time, this name was changed to "Polarheimen". On May 1952, while fishing in the Austisen, the ship broke off two propeller blades and half the propeller head. The ship also began to take on water around the hull. With all the pumps running, they managed to keep the ship afloat. "Noris" was nearby and understood from the high activity around the stern of "Polarheimen" that something was afoot. They arrived, and after a while it was agreed to start a tow of the casualty. The lifeboat "JM Johansen" was sent out by the insurer to take over the tow, but they did not find them until they had almost reached Vardø, and "Noris" then continued the tow all the way in. In 1954, the "Polarheimen" comes to assist when the "Forland" suffers a similar accident in the Arctic. In both 1957 and 1965, the "Polarheimen" were arrested by the Russians who believed they had captured prisoners within the border. Both times they were released after a short time, but with heavy fines imposed. During the crossing to the North Sea in 1970, they discovered on Tromsøflaket, on July 19, that water was entering the forward crew cabin. All pumps were immediately started, but the water rose. "Polarheimen" turned, they had just passed the fishing boat "Alf Bjørnar", and wanted to try to get to it. They were unable to find where the leak was, but they assumed it must have been before since there was no water in the engine room at first. "Alf Bjørnar" had no bailing equipment, and at 7:00 p.m. the engine on "Polarheimen" stopped. 4 men went into fishing boat no. 1 and made their way over to "Alf Bjørnar". The rest of the crew, 3 men, left the ship at 9:00 p.m. Shortly afterwards, the ship turned to starboard and went down with the stern first.