The coal trade surplus and merchant seafarers in British-Norwegian relations during the First World War

Abstract

During the First World War, more than 800 Norwegian ships were sunk by hostile action, with a loss of about 2,100 seafarers. The Norwegian merchant fleet was extremely important for Norway's economy and for securing the import of vital goods. In addition, Britain and her allies needed goods carried in Norwegian merchant ships, such as coal shipped across the Channel to France. This article examines the relationship between Britain and Norway during the war, concentrating on the roles of two important resources, coal and maritime labour. The first part of the article outlines the wartime Anglo-Norwegian relationship. Negotiations around the so-called ‘coal trade surplus’, and how the surplus was allocated, are analysed in the second section. The coal trade surplus derived from British coal exports to Norway and was transferred from the British to the Norwegian Government in 1919. The British Ministry of Shipping, in recognition of the efforts of Norwegian seafarers, demanded that part of the surplus should be allocated to their well-being and to a memorial for the Norwegian merchant seafarers who had perished during the war.