April 9, 1940
When Norway was invaded by Germany on 9 April 1940, the merchant fleet had been at war for seven months. Norway was neutral, but lost 58 ships and around 400 sailors. During these months much of the framework that Nortraship was to operate within was created, most importantly the Norwegian-British tonnage agreement. Called the Scheme Agreement, this stated that a percentage of the Norwegian fleet, including two-thirds of the tanker tonnage, was to go on charter to Britain. In return Norway would receive important commodities. This agreement alleviated the British problem of access to the Norwegian fleet, especially the tankers, which they regarded as of "exceptional importance".1 To protect Norwegian neutrality, the agreement was negotiated between the British government and the Norwegian Shipowners Association.
These negotiations showed the dual nature of the Norwegian merchant fleet: it was a huge asset, but also vital to both the belligerent factions. It was necessary to tread carefully in order to safeguard Norwegian neutrality but at the same time maintain the close commercial relationship with Britain. Norway's policy during World War I had been labelled that of the silent ally, and the Norwegian government wanted to continue along the same lines in World War II.
The reasons for Norway being so important for the Allies were the relative decline of the British merchant fleet, overly optimistic pre-war tonnage planning and the US Neutrality Act, which effectively forbade US vessels to enter the war zone. The only other nation with a comparable merchant fleet was The Netherlands, but they strongly rejected any tonnage agreement, in fear of German reprisals.
The Norwegian government also established contingency plans for alerting vessels in case of war. In order to reduce the risk of being torpedoed, most Norwegian vessels followed British convoys. The added safety was not without problems, as Norway as a neutral country thus was close to siding with one of the belligerents. The convoying regime reflected Norway's dependence on Britain, as had been the case during World War I.
Read more about this topic: Nortraship, The Forgotten War, September 3, 1939
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