Erling Dekke Næss (5 September 1901 – 7 February 1993) was a Norwegian shipowner and businessman. Næss was Deputy Head of Nortraship's New York office from 1942 to 1946. Næss was the initiator behind the OBO carrier. He is also credited as the proposer of the Norwegian International Ship Register, which allowed Norwegian shipowners to compete on an equal footing with flags of convenience.
Family and early years Erling Dekke Næss was born in Bergen, Norway, and was the son of Ragnar Næss, a businessman and banker. He had two brothers, the younger being the philosopher Arne Næss. His nephew was the mountaineer and businessman Arne Næss Jr. Best known for his early adoption of flags of convenience.
The family moved to Kristiania in 1911, where his father died in 1913. Næss studied economy at the Royal Frederick University and earned a B.S. in 1920. He contemplated continued studies and travelled to Britain to finish a Ph.D. at the London School of Economics.
Studies and work in Britain Næss did not have the financial resources to study, so he had to work; after a short stint at Midland Bank, he changed over to C. J. Hambro & Son. He started out as a typist, writing letters to Scandinavian customers, but after a year, he was made assistant in the new currency department. In the evenings, he continued his studies in economics, and was greatly influenced by John Maynard Keynes.
By the middle of 1923, Næss decided to concentrate on his Ph.D. and thus ended his engagement with the bank. Special interest for his research and work were the imbalances created by the German war reparations, as their consequences could be seen in the currency market with the German mark rapidly losing value against other main currencies. The young Næss was amazed at being at the center of the disastrous decline of the mark, severely undermining the Weimar Republic.
The aim of his research was to show how fluctuations in the currency market influenced each nation's prices, and he became a member of the Royal Economic Society in order to follow lectures by Keynes and others. Keynes was a proponent of economists investing in the market, in order to "live as one learned", and young Næss followed this. He started out with small investments in rubber, as there were huge imbalances in supply and demand which he had found through his research. With the profits he continued into tin, and as he was successful he was offered a job as an analyst by his broker, so leaving him with less time for concluding his research.
Into whaling In 1927, Næss got to know Rupert Trouton, and he presented Næss with a plan to buy control of his father-in-law's whaling enterprise, the Norwegian company A/S Hektor. In establishing the Hektor Whaling Ltd, Næss developed his banking experience and contacts in City. Næss took £50,000 of the company's total capital of £600,000, a gamble that was to make him a huge profit. Due to his success in this enterprise, he was contacted by the Norwegian whaling pioneers Torger Moe and Johan Rasmussen in the summer of 1928. They asked for his help to arrange financing of their Viking Whaling Company Ltd, as they planned to build one of the world's first whale factory ship. The vessel Vikingen was to be built as a tanker, with the whale processing factory on its deck; thus being able to trade both as a factory ship and a tanker.
Næss found the prospect very interesting, arranged the financing and the first whaling company trading on the LSE started in January 1929. Næss did receive some critique from Norway for "selling out know-how" to the British, as whaling was a huge Norwegian industry. Næss' view was that the capital was difficult to obtain in Norway and that the crew and supplies would come from Norway anyway. Vikingen, with a deadweight tons of 15,000 tons was delivered in September 1929 and sailed for its first season, which was a huge success.
Enter the Panama flag However, there were problems. As Vikingen was British registered, Norwegian stockowners were taxed twice. In order to remedy this, Næss found the innovative solution of moving the administration to France and registering the vessel Vikingen in Panama, as US-owned vessels had done since 1922. Næss had to overcome a number of obstacles, one of them arranging a tax agreement between the US and Panama. In concluding this agreement Næss got assistance from Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. After much research and work a Panama company named Viking Corporation was established and the Vikingen with its whaling vessels was sold to that company in 1931. The various Norwegian sailors' organisations were informed that all wages and agreements would remain as before, and a bonus would be given covering the fact that the seamen would not receive Norwegian public pensions. This was accepted by the powerful head of the seamen's union, Mr. Ingvald Haugen.
Depression and overproduction The purpose of the Viking Whaling Company Ltd was not only to operate its own whale factory ships but to buy shares in Norwegian companies. It bought shares in A/S Vestfold, A/S Sydhavet and A/S Rosshavet, all controlled by Johan Rasmussen & Co. Besides ships these companies had a whaling station on South Shetland. For the years 1924 - 1928, profits were above 60%, with a maximum of 147% as net profit to capital. With the depression the prices collapsed, and in the beginning of the 1930s, there were a number of vessels laid up and restructuring in the business. Næss was closely involved in this, especially with the sale of the new whale factory ship Vestfold () to a newly established company in London, as A/S Vestfold could not service its debtors. This was made possible by Næss's good connections in London, and saved the Norwegian company from bankruptcy.
During the years 1932-34, the prices on whale oil sank from £25 to £10 per ton. To counter this the first voluntary reductions of production came forth, as governed by a quota agreement signed 9 June 1932. The agreement set limits on production of whale oil and the length of the season, it was to start 7 October 1932 and end 30 April 1933. This resulted in that the companies Næss was involved with used only the modern Vestfold for that season.
A taste of whale hunting and shadows of war In December 1934, Næss travelled to Cape Town to study the whale hunt, and reached the Vestfold in January 1935. He saw the whole process of hunting and processing the whales. He was trying his luck at shooting whales and was very much impressed by the gunners' skill. The largest whale caught was some 33 m with a weight of over 100 tonnes. Næss seemed to regret part of his involvement in the whaling business, as it ended almost exterminating the large whales. Næss was back in London in March 1935, and though the market was still down it had improved, due to large purchases of whale oil by the German government. In the season 1937 - 1938 the market was down again, and with Vestfold producing a loss it was decided to sell Vikingen.
The only buyer was the German government, and it could only pay with building a tanker. It was a huge political gamble, but the agreement was signed in Berlin early 1938 and the building of the tanker started at Deutsche Werft in Hamburg. Næss was acutely aware of war looming and followed the building himself. The vessel named Norness and delivered on 4 May 1939. The remaining whale factory vessel in the cooperating companies was now Vestfold; it would do its last season 1939 - 1940. After delivering some of its cargo to Procter & Gamble in New York and the rest in Liverpool it would act as a bunker vessel in Freetown until 1944, when it departed and was sunk by a German submarine.
Into the tanker trade The whale factory vessels were actually tankers with the whale processing equipment added, so Næss and his partners ventured into tankers. The first small step was in 1930, with two motor tankers, Nore, a vessel and Norvinn , both considered large by then current standards. The vessels were to have traded in the spot market, but as the rates were low, both were laid up. Næss was not discouraged by this, and on 20 February 1936, he established the company Viking Tanker Company Limited with capital raised in London. The administration was in Paris, and the vessels were to sail under the Panama flag. It bought the two previous mentioned tankers from Rasmussen & Moe's Rederi A/S, and it ordered and bought several vessels. By 1938, the company had five vessels, Nore, Norvinn, Norvik, Norlys and Norbris, totalling - a large tanker fleet for that period. This resulted in a net profit of £192,575 for the company's second year of operation.
War and the escape from Norway In September 1939, World War II began, and the tanker markets became very strong. Even though sailing under a neutral flag, the Viking Tanker Company vessels were able to trade as they followed British regulations. Næss travelled to Norway in April 1940, as he had been requested by the British Ministry of Trade to contact Norwegian shipowners that did not fully support the blockade of Germany. He would also meet his colleagues in Sandefjord, Johan Rasmussen and Torger Moe. Næss had a meeting on 8 April 1940, with the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Halvdan Koht and woke up the day after, 9 April, with the German invasion of Oslo, seeing the German transport planes landing at the Fornebu airport from his brother Arne Næss's house in Holmenkollen. Næss was pessimistic about Norway's chances towards the German invasion and escaped Oslo on 10 April, heading westwards by air. The journey would be by train, air, car, and small boats. He ended up in Ålesund, where he volunteered as an interpreter for the British Expeditionary Force. On the way, he was twice locked up by Norwegian police, suspecting him of being a spy. After a few weeks in Ålesund, the British forces had to withdraw, and Næss followed them back to Britain.
Back in London, Næss had to establish contact with the seven vessels operated by the group. Until the invasion, they had been controlled by the office in Sandefjord, Norway. These were the whale factory ship Vestfold (built in Framnæs shipyard), the tankers Norness, Norbris, Norlys, Norvinn, and the dry cargo vessels ,Nordal and Nortun. The British government also wanted control of his fleet, demanding to have the vessels on bare-boat charter. This was a blow to Næss, as he felt insulted by what he viewed as unfriendly treatment of a friend of Britain. Næss insisted on running the company himself, as he knew both the vessel and the crew. The British government initially did not accept this, and weeks followed where Næss was not allowed to contact his vessels or leave the country. The solution came through the banker Sam Guinness, as the companies had substantial amounts of US dollars in New York banks. This money could only be released by Næss, and the British government needed dollars. For $1,125,000, Næss got his travel permit to the US.