The Factory Ship

*Source: Shetland ex-Whalers Association*

A floating factory

During the 1920s the factory ship was introduced. Large custom-built ships with modern equipment, designed to drag whales up onto the deck. Also called the Mother Ship, these floating factories could follow the whale catchers, chasing the whales offshore. The efficiency of these ships meant that much of the whaling industry was no longer dependant on shore-based stations. The whale catchers were able to transfer their catch to factory ships operating in the open sea

The whaling season lasted until the international whaling quota had been reached. During this time, the whale catchers and factory ship would remain at sea, up to four or five months each season. The ships would travel thousands of miles out at sea, in the roughest weather and isolated from any shore.

Anatomy of a whaling factory ship

The factory ship operated like a floating shore station. Early factory ships in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were primarily converted sailing vessels, with limited processing capabilities.

For many years, most factory ships were converted passenger ships, liners or freighters, usually quite old at the time of conversion. Although most vessels were old when they were rebuilt, they were always among the larger merchantmen, and size increased gradually over time. They also usually came from yards in Norway and Britain as rebuilt, modern ships. While the main machinery was often still in place, the superstructure was rebuilt to give room for the processing plant and storage facilities.

Factory ship *Kosmos*. *Source: Hvalfangstmuseet, Sandefjord*

Technological development during this period focused on increasing the ships’ size and the number of cookers. However, a major challenge was finding an efficient way to bring the whales on board, leading to numerous patents for hauling devices between 1905 and the mid-1920s. A breakthrough occurred in 1925 with the Lancing, which featured a successful stern slipway design.

While Lancing represented a step forward, it did not become the dominant design. The years following Lancing’s introduction saw intense experimentation with various hauling solutions, including bow slipways, side gates, and winching systems. A dominant design emerged in 1928 with the construction of the purpose-built factory ships Kosmos and Vikingen. These ships were innovative in several ways:

They were specifically designed as floating factories, much larger than their predecessors.
Their design, based on tanker layouts, allowed for a more efficient arrangement of processing machinery.

On the flensing plan of *Southern Harvester*. *Source: John Alexander*

Southern Venturer and Southern Harvester

Launched at the Furness Shipbuilding Company at Stockton on Tees on 11 June 1945, Southern Venturer and her sister ship Southern Harvester (launched 2 May 1946) were ordered by Edinburgh-based Christian Salvesen to replace tonnage lost during the war.

The two ships operated on a seasonal basis, heading south from the UK to South Georgia, to spend the Antarctic summer months hunting whales. Equipped with extensive facilities to process the whales they caught, they were not dependent upon shore-based whaling stations and could follow their prey into deep seas. The ships also had big refrigerators to store meat, fats and oils.

Operating with up to 380 seafarers, catchers, ‘gunners’, and processors onboard, the ships later carried a Westland Whirlwind helicopter to locate and track whales – along with Kelvin Hughes ASDIC (Anti-Submarine Detection Inspection Committee) sonar technology.

*Southern Venturer* in South Shields. *Source: John Alexander*

The new factory ships were really modern tankers with an extra factory deck on top. They not only were very efficient but also could easily be converted to tankers if the market for whale oil collapsed. The Kosmos-Vikingen design became the standard for subsequent factory ships, with incremental changes focusing on size and processing technology. Although alternative hauling methods and older converted ships persisted, the core principles of this dominant design remained unchanged until the decline of large-scale commercial whaling.

In the late 1940s and 1950s a number of new factory ships were launched, flying not only the flags of the two major whaling nations, Norway and Great Britain, but also of several other countries including Japan and Russia.

Whale catcher *Laurel* tied up to a factory ship. *Source: Jock Murray*

Catching whales

The whale catcher would only visit the factory ship for bunkers, water and mail.

At the beginning of the 1900s, whale catchers worked from shore stations on South Georgia. Later they also worked in teams attached to a factory ship. The catcher fleets were often named after the company or the factory ship with which they operated.

Production reports for Southern Harvester and Southern Venturer

Opening pressure vessel. *Source: John Alexander*

Processing whales

Around 300 men worked aboard. Alongside the ships crew where the cooks, galley boys, chemists, medical staff, and laundry men. The ship had to be self-sufficient, just like the shore stations on South Georgia. Prepared for any eventuality a range of craftsmen worked on board, ready to repair anything. The ship was also able to generate fresh water for drinking by an evaporator system in in the engine room.

“A ramp called a skidway runs through the centre of the ship's stern up from sea level to the ships deck at an approximate 20% slope. This, with the use of a Winch, steel cable and a GRAB, allows the dead whales floating in the sea at the ships stern to be towed from the sea up to and on the ship's deck for dissection.

A large twin screw shaft and steam engines provide the ship's propulsion, while the rest of the ship mainly consists of the factory, which, with numerous kettles approximately one metre diameter set to deck level, allow the Flensers, who with their long knives, cut up the whale carcasses for insertion into these kettles. The blubber and meat being steamed to extract the oil, while the residue, when dried, used for fertiliser etc. A large crew quarters to accommodate all the ship's personnel and to carry the extra crew for the catcher boats awaiting in South Georgia”
George Whitfield, 3rd Engineer, Southern Harvester, 1951

"The catch has been coming in very staggered, one day the score will be nothing, then twenty the next day. The decks are very slippery and so when they are cutting whales we make our way for our meals by going through the factory. To see the amount of blood that flows is amazing, they reckon that a sperm whale has five tons of it"
George Whitfield, 3rd Engineer, Southern Harvester, 1951

“I was allocated to work with the ‘blubber boys’ on the after plan. Our main job was to pull the blubber into the holes in the deck called quaners leading to the cookers before boiling into oil. To do this the flensers had to cut the blubber into suitable sized strips. Then armed with long hand hooks, and the pulling power of a steam capstan, the strips were drawn into the holes. It seemed straight forward but sometimes the hooks would stick and you had to let them go in a hurry or else be pulled down and get cooked”
George Moar, Deck Mess Boy, Southern Venturer, 1947

Westland Whirlwind helicopters on whaling operations. *Source: John Alexander*

Helicopter operations

The plan to use helicopters as ‘spotters’ for the whaling fleets commenced in 1953 when Air Whaling Ltd was established by aviation pioneer Alan Bristow. Southern Harvester and Southern Venturer were converted to accommodate two Westland Whirlwind helicopters. Ultimately, the use of helicopters was deemed not commercially successful for whaling operations.

Helicopter pilot William ‘Bill’ Loftus spent two seasons flying operations from Southern Harvester in 1954/55 and 1955/56. This time includes a crash into the sea off of Brazil on 5 November 1955 while he was acting as co-pilot on a training exercise. Bill was picked up uninjured by Kosmos III, a Norwegian factory ship Despite as intensive search by several ships and the second helicopter from Southern Harvester no signs were found of the pilot Captain Seton or the helicopter.

Bill’s family have generously donated items from his time at and around South Georgia as well as artwork, photographs and films taken by him.

Helicopter operations from factory ship

Source: William Loftus

"We started using helicopters in 1954. We decided it was worth while having helicopters for spotting. We were the first of the Norwegian and British companies to do this seriously. Depending on the weather, they went out to see if they could find pods of whales and then report back. However, towards the end of our whaling, we came to the conclusion that it was hardly worthwhile, although they claimed that they contributed an enormous amount with their spotting"
Sir Gerald Elliot, Operational Manager, Christian Salvesen & Co, 1948