News / Shetland Bus vessel makes return visit
A 107 YEARS old fishing vessel that in 1942 helped 60 Norwegians escape their Nazi-occupied homeland has been back to Shetland for a short three day visit.
Owner of the 24-metre Erkna, Atle Remøy, said he was overwhelmed by the islanders’ interest in the history of the Shetland Bus wartime operation.
What started as a private visit to the isles with 10 people on board turned quickly into a history lesson, he said on Monday.
Although closely linked to the history of the Shetland Bus – his father Alfred was involved in 43 Shetland Bus missions on board the submarine chaser Vigra – Remøy said he had not really been aware of the Shetland Bus history when buying the restored vessel.
Built as a fishing vessel in Ålesund in 1907, Erkna was requisitioned by the German Kriegsmarine in 1940.
However, refugees desperate to leave their occupied country ‘stole’ the vessel from the Germans and sailed with 60 people on board to Lerwick. It was the largest group of refugees to arrive in Shetland on one boat.
The precise date of this first trip is disputed; it was either in November 1941 or October 1942.
What is known however is that the Erkna made three more trips before her involvement stopped as she had become too recognisable due to her steel hull.
During the latter part of the war she serviced warships anchored in the Clyde, before being brought back to Norway from Buckie.
Remøy said he and his brother owned her for a while in the 1970s before she was sold on to Arnfin J Kausen who restored her to her former glory. The 59 year old then bought the vessel back from Kausen a few years ago.
“When our crew visited Scalloway Museum on Sunday, they couldn’t believe the interest in the vessel and its history.
“We feel very much welcome here. It seems people here have a little bit more time to talk and show an interest,” he said on Monday.
The Erkna is due to depart Lerwick on Monday evening for the 24-hour trip across the North Sea. The vessel is based in the fishing town of Fosnavåg, south-east of Ålesund.
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