One last venture

Factory ships harbored over summer in Mefjorden, Sandefjord, Norway. *Svend Foyn, Vestfold, Kosmos II, Tafelberg, Congo, Ernesto Tornqvist, Fraternitas, and C.A. Larsen. Source: Vestfoldmuseenes mediearkiv*

Larsen left South Georgia in 1913, having resigned his position with Pesca in July 1914. After World War I, demand for whale oil continued to increase. A demand for glycerine, a by-product of whale oil production, plus European food shortages all continued to drive the industry.

Larsen was eager to enter the whaling business again. He had a new vision for changing the industry. This time he would practice pelagic (open-sea) whaling away from the busy sub-Antarctic waters and land stations of South Georgia and the South Shetland Islands. Reports from explorers travelling through the Ross Sea told of abundant whales so this is where Larsen aimed to sail.

The discovery and harnessing of whale oil away from the licensing and confines of the shore station saved the modern whaling industry but sealed the fate of the whales.

The Ross Sea Whaling Company (A/S Rosshavet) was set up and secured a permit for whaling in the Ross Sea from the British government. In this case it is not fully clear whether the British Government actually had jurisdiction to issue this permit. The government claimed the territory after they had issued the permit to be administered by New Zealand. The Ross Sea Whaling Company permit allowed them to practice with two factory ships for 21 years.

The company bought a ship 470-foot (143m) steamship Mahronda originally from Belfast 1905 and had her converted to a factory ship on Framnæs Mekaniske Værksted. The ship emerged as Sir James Clark Ross strengthened against ice and equipped with facilities to process blubber, meat and bone.

Sir James Clark Ross left Sandefjord on the 23 September 1923 bound for Antarctica through Australia. This was the largest ship to ever have been this far south. The second season in the Ross Sea was a much greater success than the first. They left on the 13 February having caught 408 blue whales and 19 fin whales and carrying 37 000 barrels of oil. The company was later able to upgrade to a ship with a bow slipway which eliminated the need for winching the whales over the side or flensing the whales alongside the ship. This ship was named the Carl Anton Larsen in honour of the company’s visionary founder.

The *Carl Anton Larsen* at Stewart Island, New Zealand 1928. A converted oil tanker, the 17,000-ton Norwegian factory ship of the Ross Sea Antarctica whaling fleet was returning from a three-month trip to Antarctica and carrying 80,000 barrels of whale oil. *Source: Te Hikoi Museum.*

By 1924 Larsen’s health was poor. He was still recovering from a heart attack he had suffered the previous year. Despite this, and the poor results from their first season, Larsen left for a second season on the Sir James Clark Ross on the 29 August 1924. Like the previous season, they picked up the catchers in Australia and headed for Antarctica. Larsen soon had to face his condition was not fit to lead the ship. Before entering the ice on the 29 November, he passed on command to his first mate, Oscar Nilsen. On 8 December Larsen died of heart disease in his cabin with his son Thorbjørn by his side. His body was embalmed and returned to Sandefjord for his funeral on the 15 May 1924.

Men working on the whale slip on the factory ship *CA Larsen.* A strap is placed around the whale's tail and tied to a winch to haul it up onto the flensing deck. *Source: Vestfoldmuseenes mediearkiv.*

The second season in the Ross Sea was a much greater success than the first. They left on the 13 February having caught 408 blue whales and 19 fin whales and carrying 37,000 barrels of oil. The company was later able to upgrade to a ship with a bow slipway which eliminated the need for winching the whales over the side or flensing the whales alongside the ship. This ship was named the Carl Anton Larsen in honour of the company’s visionary founder.

Carl A Larsen