Antarctic Whaling Research Articles

Лев Корабельников — зоолог, китобій і музеолог

An essay about one of the famous whale researchers of Ukraine, who went through a difficult path to became a whale specialist from the first day of his professional work. The researcher participated in eight voyages as a member of the research team of the Antarctic whaling flotilla ‘Slava’ (later ‘Soviet Ukraine’), studied the diet of whales and patterns of their distribution in the Antarctic (1956–1959, 1965–1970). He is the author of about 15 publications about Antarctic whales and birds. Later, he became a scientist at the Research Institute of Biology at Kharkiv University (1970–1975), and then became the director of the Museum of Nature of this university (1975–1989). He collected and mounted many specimens of marine mammals and birds.

Perspectives on the economic and political history of the Ross Sea

ABSTRACTThe paper analyses the economic and political history of the Ross Sea, where exploration, science, commercial exploitation, politics and adventure became highly interlinked and interwoven. Expedition accounts and the extensive literature on Antarctic history and politics inform the contextual aspects. The archives of the Norwegian whaling company A/S Rosshavet, established in 1923, and the United States of America and New Zealand archival material from the 1950s are key sources. From the first whaling season onwards, the impact of Antarctic whaling, and later scientific bases, highlights and illustrates the tensions between Antarctic commerce, territorial claims and international politics.

“The Anatomy of Allied Occupation: Contesting the Resumption of Japanese Antarctic Whaling, 1945–1952”

This article scrutinizes the controversy surrounding the resumption of Japanese Antarctic whaling from 1946, focusing on the negotiations and concessions that underline the nature of the Allied Occupation as an international undertaking. Britain, Norway, Australia, and New Zealand objected to Japanese pelagic whaling, chiefly on the grounds of its past record of wasteful and inefficient operations. Their opposition forced the Natural Resources Section of General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, to increase the number of Allied inspectors on board the two Japanese whaling factories from one to two, and to respond carefully to the criticisms they made of the conduct of Japanese whaling. U.S. sensitivity to international censure caused the Occupation to encourage the factory vessels to prioritize oil yields over meat and blubber for domestic consumption. Moreover, General Douglas MacArthur, the U.S. Occupation commander, summarily rejected a proposal to increase the number of Japanese fleets from two to three in 1947. With its preponderance of power, the United States successfully promoted Japanese Antarctic whaling, but a tendency to focus only on outcomes obscures the lengthy and difficult processes that enabled Japanese whaling expeditions to take place on an annual basis from late 1946.

The expansion of modern commercial whaling and the Antarctic whaling in Nazi Germany

1873년 독일은 북극해에서의 포경을 포기했다. 이후 포경산업은 노르웨이와 영국이 현대식 상업포경 기술을 발전시키면서 전 세계의 바다에서 고래를 잡아들였다. 1차 세계대전 기간 동안 고래 기름은 니트로글리세린의 원료로서 뿐만 아니라 중요한 지방공급원으로 자리 잡았다. 특히 고래 기름은 가장 중요한 마가린 생산원료로 이용되었다. 저렴한 고래유를 원료로 생산된 마가린은 독일인들의 중요한 지방공급원으로 자리 잡게 된다. 대공황 이전까지 독일은 가장 많은 고래유를 수입해 마가린을 생산하는 국가가 되었지만, 고질적인 지방부족에 시달리고 있었다. 식량의 자급자족과 군비확장을 목표로 하는 나치정권의 정책에도 불구하고 독일인들의 식량문제는 해결되지 못했다. 군비확장 우선정책에 밀려 식량의 자급자족 정책은 실효를 거둘 수 없었다. 무엇보다도 지방의 자급률은 50% 선을 겨우 넘기는 수준이었다. 노르웨이의 고래유 수입에 전적으로 의존하고 있던 독일 마가린 산업을 중심으로 외환절약과 독자적인 고래유 공급을 확보할 목적으로 남극해 포경선단을 만들어 본격적인 현대식 상업포경을 시작했다. 1936년부터 1939년까지 독일은 7개의 남극해 포경선단을 만들어 노르웨이, 영국, 일본과 함께 세계 4대 포경국가가 되었다. 2차 세계대전의 발발로 중단된 나치 독일의 남극해 포경은 패전과 함께 종말을 고하고 말았다. 나치 독일의 남극해 포경이 목적했던 외환절약이나 지방의 자급자족은 실패하고 말았지만, 1930년대 말 나치 독일에 의해 본격화된 남극해에서의 현대식 상업포경은 전후 일본, 노르웨이, 영국, 네덜란드, 소련 등과 같은 국가들에 의해 더욱 확대되었다. 그리고 남극해의 고래는 멸종위기종이 될 때까지 남획되었다. 1980년대 말부터 세계적으로 포경이 금지되었지만 여전히 노르웨이와 아이슬란드, 그리고 최근에 일본이 상업포경을 재개했다.In 1873 Germany gave up the arctic whaling. Since then, the norwegian and the english whaling industries with advancing modern commercial whaling technology have caught whales from all over the oceans. During the First World War, whale oil became an important raw material of edible fats as well as of nitroglycerin. In particular, whale oil has been the most important raw material of margarine production. Thanks to the cheap price of whale oil, Margarine has become an important source of fat for the Germans. Until the Great Depression, Germany was a major fat importer on the european whale oil market, but suffered from chronic shortages of fats. Despite the Nazi regime s policy of expanding food self-sufficiency and armament, German food problems were not resolved. The autarky policy of food was ineffective due to the military expansion priority policy. Above all, the german self-sufficiency rate of fats in the early nazi times was just over 50%. Focusing on the German margarine industry, which relyed entirely on norwegian whale oil imports, antarctic whaling fleets were launched for the purpose of securing minimal foreign currency and independent whale oil supply. From 1936 to 1939, Germany with her seven antarctic whaling fleets became the world s fourth largest whaling nation after Norway, Great Britain and Japan. But nazi german antarctic whaling was broken off in the wake of the outbreak of World War II and ended finally with the defeat of the war. Nazi German plan for the saving of foreign currency and self-sufficiency of fats through the antarctic whaling failed, but modern commercial whaling in the antarctic, which was full-fledged by Nazi Germany in the late 1930s, was followed after the second world war by countries such as Japan, Norway, the UK, the Netherlands, and the Soviet Union. Further expanded by them. And whales in the antarctic sea were overfished until they became a globally endangered species. Commercial whaling has been banned worldwide since the late 1980s, but Norway, Iceland and Japan have recently resumed commercial whaling.

The history of Australian legal opposition to Japanese Antarctic whaling

ABSTRACTWhaling has been a consistent theme in Australia’s relations with Japan since the 1930s, Australia having endeavoured to regulate, restrict, or bring to a complete halt Japan’s Antarctic whaling virtually since it began. Australia’s motivations have been mixed, involving at various points, some combination of protection of Australia’s coastal whaling industry, concern for Australia’s security, for safeguarding Australia’s Antarctic territorial claim, and more recently, concern for Australia’s whale-watching industry and/or for the whales. Since environmental consciousness became a primary factor in the 1970s, Australian policy has been aligned with that of anti-whaling non-governmental organizations (NGOs), albeit that certain actions of NGOs have caused difficulties for the Australian Government. Law – inclusive of legal argument in the course of diplomacy, domestic laws, and international litigation – has been a mechanism of influence used by the Australian Government and NGOs. This paper traces Australia’s legal opposition from its beginnings until Japan’s announcement in December 2018 that it would end Antarctic whaling.

'Whaling and the Extermination of the Great Whale': Norwegian and British Debate about Whale Stocks in Antarctica, 1913-1939

Abstract This article examines Norwegian and British investigations of the threat of Antarctic whale extinction in the interwar period. At the time, whaling fleets hunted populations of hundreds of thousands of whales into the remnants that exist today. From the perspective of scientists and observers at the time, however, it was less obvious that whale populations declined. The article investigates what experts and the public knew about the health of Antarctic whale stocks. It contributes to existing research about whale science and whaling diplomacy in two ways. First, it documents in more depth when and how a consensus about whale decline emerged. Secondly, it studies not only experts but also public discussion about the issue in the newspapers. It aims to understand the public assessment of whale stocks. The article finds that concern over Antarctic whaling surfaced in expert British circles from around 1913, but that it did not become a serious issue in Norway before the late 1920s. In the mid-1930s, accumulated statistics in conjunction with new methods created a rough consensus among experts that whale stocks had declined. From the late 1920s, there was intense Norwegian public interest in Antarctic whale stocks, which likewise moved to a consensus on decline around the mid-1930s. The media's attention to the whale stock issue, however, often depended on strong personalities and relied on different types of evidence.

Michael John Gilkes

After qualifying Michael John Gilkes worked as a ship’s surgeon and station medical officer to South Georgia Island and the Antarctic Whaling Fleet for two years. He retained an interest...

Science Friction: Antarctic Research Whaling and the International Court of Justice

Whaling remains one of the most controversial and divisive aspects of the modern regulation of marine resources. In 1982, the International Whaling Commission, the global management body responsible for the regulation of whale stocks, instituted a moratorium on commercial hunting, which has been in force for almost 20 years. Nevertheless, a number of legal avenues exist within the current international regulatory framework to facilitate a degree of continued hunting. The most contentious of these is the scientific research exemption advanced under Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling 1946, which provides for the national authorization of permits for lethal research. Japan has undertaken a significant programme of scientific whaling in Antarctica since 1987, despite widespread international criticism and an escalating campaign of nautical obstruction by militant activists, duly generating a long-standing legal dispute with Australia. On 31 March 2014, judgment was rendered by the International Court of Justice, in favour of Australia, ordering Japan to cease and desist its Antarctic whaling programme and refuting Japanese assertions that these activities had been legitimately conducted ‘for the purposes of scientific research’ as permitted under the 1946 Convention

A Double-Edged Harpoon: The Trial of Science in the Antarctic Whaling Case before the International Court of Justice

A Double-Edged Harpoon: The Trial of Science in the Antarctic Whaling Case before the International Court of Justice

The Antarctic Whaling case: litigation in the international court and the role played by NGOs

Australia, in 2010, commenced proceedings in the International Court of Justice against Japan challenging the international legal validity of Japan’s conduct of its “scientific” whaling programme in the Southern Ocean. The case against Japan was argued in the International Court in June and July 2013. These proceedings were brought following a sustained campaign by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in Australia and internationally in which four Legal Panels were sponsored to consider the legality of Japan’s whaling programme. The role played by IFAW in promoting international litigation strategies to challenge Japan’s whaling in the Southern Ocean is considered, against a backdrop of similar and related environmental campaigns by other non-governmental organisations.

A Crisis that Never Came: The decline of the Antarctic Whaling Industry in the 1950s and 1960s

The twentieth-century Antarctic whaling industry had from the beginning been led by Norwegian companies and companies from a few other nations with strong Norwegian ties, especially Britain. This article analyses the decline and final closure of this part of the industry in the 1950s and 1960s. The nations that had dominated the industry were then challenged by Japan and the Soviet Union, who completely took over Antarctic whaling over the succeeding decades. This article has a special focus on the Norwegian industry and how the challenges were faced there, but also analyses the development in other countries that experienced a decline. The analysis reveals that the decline did not develop into a crisis for the companies or in the wider economies. One main explanation was that business cycles in shipping and in the general economy were very favourable during the years when the whaling industry was wound up.

A Crisis that Never Came: The Decline of the European Antarctic Whaling Industry in the 1950s and 60s

The paper analyzes the decline and final close down of the European Antarctic whaling industry in the 1950s and 60s. This industry had been led by British and Norwegian companies, which were now challenged by Japan and Soviet Union that completely took over Antarctic whaling for the next decades. The decline most severely affected Norway where the whaling industry was relatively more important than in any other country. The decline was also disproportionally felt in Norway because the country provided crew and equipment to many foreign whaling companies. The paper will therefore have a special focus on the Norwegian industry and how the challenges were faced there. The analysis reveals that the decline did not develop into a crisis for the companies involved or in the wider economy. One main explanation was that business cycles in shipping and in the general economy were very favorable during the years when the whaling industry was wound up.

‘The first practical Soviet steps towards getting a foothold in the Antarctic’: the Soviet Antarctic whaling flotilla Slava

ABSTRACTAfter World War II (WWII), the USSR acquired a whaling flotilla as war reparations from the Germans. This event was the beginning of Soviet whaling in the Antarctic. It also motivated the USSR to sign the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling and to use its whaling operations to exercise leverage with regard to political advantage in any future discussions on an international regime for the Antarctic.

The first Antarctic whaling season of Admiralen (1905–1906): the diary of Alexander Lange

ABSTRACTThe first factory ship of the so-called modern era of Antarctic whaling was Admiralen, arriving together with two smaller catcher boats in the South Shetland Islands in January 1906, after a period of whaling in the Falkland Islands. The expedition leader was Alexander Lange, a Norwegian whaler with a long experience from whaling in northern Norway and Spitsbergen. He kept a diary for a considerable period and this covered several whaling voyages. The one dealing with the pioneer Antarctic season of 1905–1906 has been translated from Norwegian into English and is presented here with an introduction that places the expedition into its wider context.

Vigilantes on the High Seas?: The Sea Shepherds and Political Violence

Defining terrorism and explaining how it occurs remains a contentious issue. This article attempts to generate new understandings on these topics by applying the work of Ehud Sprinzak's delegitimatization model to the Sea Shepherds. Evidence presented in the article suggests that the Sea Shepherd's present level of political violence passed through gradual phases. In this respect, it is possible to suggest that Sprinzak's model has applicability for maritime organizations, as well as terrestrial based groups. However, we also note that on the one hand, it may be possible to argue that in some respects the Sea Shepherds may constitute either a “blind spot” in the literature on terrorism and political violence, because its actions could in some circumstances be considered activism, militant direct action, piracy, vigilantism, terrorism, or eco-defense, which makes it very difficult to classify. On the other hand, that both the Sea Shepherds and the whalers may both engage in illegal activities, but are not prosecuted, may indicate that states and the international community may have neither the will nor the means to enforce laws against them. Therefore, they may be turning a blind eye to their actions. Throughout the article we maintain that the Sea Shepherds constitute an example of a gray area phenomenon. Despite the ambiguity surrounding their legal status and academic interpretations of their actions, the results of nearly three decades of the organization's activities, including its 2007 campaign to disrupt Japanese Antarctic Whaling, suggest that the Sea Shepherds may be best categorized as a vigilante group, because they claim they are seeking to enforce a legal status quo because of states' and the international community's inabilities or unwillingness to do so.

Whaling: Will the Phoenix rise again?

It is argued that Japan’s authorities and entrepreneurs involved in whaling and the whale-meat trade have a long-term goal of rebuilding a large and profitable industry of pelagic whaling, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere, in the next 20 years or so. They have made large investments in this enterprise since the so-called moratorium on commercial whaling was adopted by the International Whaling Commission in 1982. These include, but are not confined to, state subsidizing of an expanding and diversifying 20-year programme of commercial whaling under provisions in all relevant international agreements since 1937 that permit unlimited and unilaterally decreed whaling, supposedly for scientific purposes, provided that the commodities from the whales killed are fully utilized. The context of this is the monopoly of technical knowledge, special skills and the market for valuable whale-meat that Japanese enterprises acquired in the post-world war II period, having broken – in 1937 – the strongly defended de facto Anglo-Norwegian monopoly of technology, skills, access to Antarctic whaling grounds and the market for whale-oil that had existed until then. The attraction of ‘scientific whaling’ is not only that it by-passes any internationally agreed catch-limits but that it also circumvents all other rules – many dating fr/om the League of Nations whaling convention of 1931 – regarding protected species, closed areas, killing of juveniles, less inhumane killing methods, etc. The groundwork is being laid to justify that resumed whaling on partially recovered whale stocks will be at the unsustainable levels that will be profitable again. This justification is based on spurious assertions that numerous and hungry whales threaten the world’s fisheries, and that the abundance and possible increase in some whale species is impeding the recovery of other, severely depleted, and potentially more valuable species such as the blue whale. If the scenario presented here is correct it has important implications for attempts by the international community either to bring a negotiated end to commercial whaling or to bring all whaling back under international control, as the international law of the sea requires, and to ensure that any permitted exploitation of recovered whale populations will be sustainable, under a precautionary regime.

Scientific Uncertainty and the Politics of Whaling

Review: Scientific Uncertainty and the Politics of Whaling By Michael Heazle Reviewed by Ryder W. Miller San Francisco, USA Michael Heazle. Scientific Uncertainty and the Politics of Whaling. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2006. 240 pp. ISBN: 0-295-98605-0 (trade cloth) Acid free paper. US$60.00. Michael Heazle, a Research Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University in Australia, chronicles the history of whaling in the Antarctic oceans. The concept of “scientific truth” is on trial in this detailed and intricate history with scientists of the past not being able to convince the whaling industry that they needed to curtail their hunting in order to maintain sustainability of the blue, fin and humpback whale stocks. Whales were once abundant in the Antarctic oceans, but extensive hunting led to a collapse of the whaling stocks and a sea change in the treatment of scientific advice. Before the collapse, the claim of a lack of scientific certainty benefited the whaling industry which did not heed the warning of the scientists who were not deemed to have convincing evidence that whale hunting would lead to the demise of the whaling stocks. After the collapse, the burden of proof fell on the whaling industry, which had to argue that hunting would not lead to further damage to the whale populations. Sustainability efforts were also bolstered by the precautionary principle which weighed on the side of protecting the whales. Heazle, writing from the perspective of an observer, rather than an involved or idealistic scientist, asks: To what ends do governments and non governmental organizations use empirical scientific methods and why? (Page 32) He argues that The actions of the IWC's [International Whaling Commission] members at the 1964 meeting in Sandefjord clearly illustrate what this study is attempting to demonstrate: that the treatment of scientific advice by policy makers in the IWC (and in other wildlife and environmental regimes) is determined almost entirely by how well it fits with individual priorities, rather than the extent (contrived, imagined, or otherwise) to which a piece of scientific research may or may not be said to accurately describe and explain reality. (Page 111) As the author presents them, the reasons for the ending of most whaling were the lessons learned from the Antarctic collapse, the political power of environmentalism, the lack of a need for whaling in the late 1900's, and the replacement of whaling oil with vegetable oil. There was no economic need to continue whaling, which became unpopular because of the environmental movement. . In fact, Heazle argues that in the case of Antarctic whaling, the scientific truth was

Twentieth-Century Shore-Station Whaling in Newfoundland and Labrador (review)

Reviewed by Jørund Falnes Twentieth-Century Shore-Station Whaling in Newfoundland and Labrador. By Anthony B. Dickinson and Chesley W. Sanger. Montréal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005. Pp. xvii+254. $49.95. The economy of Newfoundland and Labrador has depended on exploitation of natural resources, especially cod and seals. The impact of fisheries is well understood. What is less well documented and studied is the modern shore-based whaling industry, introduced to this part of the world at the turn of the twentieth century. Because research has mostly been devoted to Antarctic whaling, the body of secondary literature on the Newfoundland and Labrador whaling industry is limited. Therefore, this study by Anthony Dickinson and Chesley Sanger represents an important contribution to our understanding of what is often labeled as the worldwide whaling period from about 1900 to 1925. It was the Biscayans who first made their way to coastal areas for whale hunting. Relatively slow swimmers were caught by men armed with handheld harpoons in small open boats. However, the picture changed radically after the introduction of cannon-fired harpoons, strong cables, and steam winches mounted on maneuverable, steam-powered catcher boats. This enabled the exploitation of large and fast-swimming whale species that were killed and brought to shore-based stations for processing. The primary individual behind the development of this new technological system was the Norwegian Svend Foyn, who did practical experimental work in the northern part of Norway during the 1860s. Another Norwegian, Adolph Nielsen, was the driving force in establishing the first whaling company in Newfoundland at the turn of twentieth century, and the system of industrialized whaling came to be called "the Norwegian technique." Indeed, it was Norwegians who initiated modern whaling throughout the world. Dickinson and Sanger might well have gone deeper into the question of technology transfer and national style, especially since the literature on [End Page 869] modern whaling history has dealt with technology more or less as an external force. In some respects, their book recalls The History of Modern Whaling (1982), the English-language version of the four-volume work produced by the Norwegian historians Arne Odd Johnsen and Joh. N. Tønnesen during the 1960s and 1970s. Covering the development of the whaling industry worldwide, Johnsen and Tønnesen took an economic, commercial, and political perspective, which seems to be Dickinson and Sanger's approach as well. Therefore their book first and foremost represents a starting point for future studies that address the relationship between culture and technology more directly. Still, there is no doubt that they have extensively researched the Canadian east coast. Their detailed look at the origin, rise, and decline of each continuous cycle of the local whaling industry over a relatively long time-span is impressive. They have collected material from archives not only in Newfoundland but also elsewhere in Canada, the United States, Scotland, England, and even Norway, and from a wide range of secondary sources. One chapter is entirely devoted to the Norwegian Anders Ellefsen's whaling station at Aquaforte, not far from St. John's, although the author's use of the available historical material in Norway is limited because so much of it is written in Norwegian. Archived at the Commander Chr. Christensen Whaling Museum in Norway, for example, is invaluable correspondence between the young station-manager Ellefsen and his much more experienced father. There is also correspondence between the station manager's local lawyer and chemist Ludvig Rismuller. It would have been interesting to find out whether this well-known chemist—who came to Newfoundland with the purpose of establishing guano plants—was a radical, independent inventor or not. The "whaling fever" in Newfoundland early in the twentieth century involved a crazy wave of speculation, unequalled in any other place where the whaling business was established, and the crash that came in relatively short order was a violent one. Because of the rapid growth of the poorly regulated industry, the Newfoundland...

The Shore Whaling Stations at South Georgia: A Study in Antarctic Industrial Archaeology (review)

Reviewed by: The Shore Whaling Stations at South Georgia: A Study in Antarctic Industrial Archaeology Jørund Falnes (bio) The Shore Whaling Stations at South Georgia: A Study in Antarctic Industrial Archaeology. By Bjørn L. Basberg. Oslo: Novus Forlag, 2004. Pp. 226. €36.30. What was to become the large-scale whaling industry in the Antarctic started out in 1904 on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia and centered there for many years. Six shore-based stations gradually expanded into small industrial towns. One of the stations closed in 1920, a second one in 1931, and the other four operated, though not continuously, until the early 1960s. The cultural history of this remote place comprises elements of adventure, but also of sadness and tragedy. Whaling in the Antarctic and around South Georgia depleted some of the whale stocks so badly that it remains uncertain whether they will ever recover. Bjørn L. Basberg, who has studied the economic history of Antarctic whaling for many years, initiated his first industrial-archaeological project on South Georgia in the 1980s. This book, an important supplement to the literature on the history of modern whaling, will provide a valuable basis for future studies. The first of three parts surveys industrial archaeology as a research field that in recent decades has developed new methods and new perspectives. Basberg's brief review of related archaeological research indicates that the South Georgia survey in some respects differs from other surveys in Antarctic regions and also at shore-based stations. The whaling stations on South Georgia are unique in that they were never put to alternative use. Having deteriorated primarily through natural processes, most of [End Page 694] them still have an authenticity that few industrial remains in more populated areas of the world can offer. The second part of the book is historically oriented, with chapters devoted to the island before whaling, the creation of the industry, its long decline, and the aftermath of its demise. What was once disregarded has come to be seen as a valuable cultural heritage. Interest was spurred after the Falklands War, when the physical remains became a political issue. In the late 1990s the island also became a tourist destination, and plans were made for cleaning up the "capital" of the island, Grytviken. There have been inevitable conflicts between environmentalists and heritage conservationists. What types of buildings should be preserved, what types should be demolished, and what types should be left to decay naturally? The third and main part of the book comprises a detailed account and analysis of the whaling stations as physical structures. After studying the layout and design—production, power supply, workshops, living quarters, food and catering, recreation facilities—Basberg has considered how the whaling stations shaped and were shaped by the landscape. In the first of several appendixes, he describes in some detail his survey methods and techniques. (One wonders why this was not part of the main text. Had it been, the subtitle would have been more descriptive.) Mapping could not be done from the air, as air support was very limited, so the photogrammetry is terrestrial. There were many challenges and compromises relating to the photographic survey of buildings at the whaling stations. As Basberg makes clear, it was far from obvious how a systematic survey of the large and complex stations should be undertaken. The photographs from the project are cataloged and archived at the Commander Chr. Christensen's Whaling Museum in Norway, and maps of all the stations and building plans have been completed using CAD, and stored digitally. If flensing plans and every floor of the buildings are included, a total of about 90,000 square meters have been surveyed. So far, this material has been organized only as an educational research project and no final steps have been taken to convert it into a commercial product. Jørund Falnes Jørund Falnes is a curator at the Museumssenteret i Vestfold AS in Sandefjord, Norway. Copyright © 2006 The Society for the History of Technology

Chukchi Sea, Southern Ocean, Kara Sea: the polar voyages of Captain Eduard Dallmann, whaler, trader, explorer 1830–96

Eduard Dallmann, of Blumenthal on the lower Weser, went to sea at the age of 15 in 1845. He took command of his first ship, the whaling vessel Planet, in 1859 on a whaling voyage to the sperm whaling grounds in the Pacific and to the Sea of Okhotsk. Over the period 1864–66 he commanded the Hawaiian vessel W.C. Talbot on trading voyages to the Alaskan and Chukotka shores of the Bering and Chukchi seas. On 17 August 1866 he sighted and landed on Ostrov Vrangelya (Wrangel Island), a year prior to its sighting by Thomas Long, credited by many with the first sighting. For the following three years he commanded the whaling ship Count Bismarck on a whaling cruise to the tropics, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Bering and Chukchi seas. In 1873–74 he made the first Antarctic whaling voyage aboard Groenland, and discovered and charted the west coasts of Anvers, Brabant, and Liège islands, as well as many smaller islands and straits including Bismarck Strait. He spent the 1875 whaling season as expert consultant, still aboard Groenland, on the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay whaling grounds. Then, to complete his career in polar waters, from 1877 to 1883 he made annual attempts to haul freight to the mouth of the Yenisey River, to be exchanged for grain cargoes brought down that river by barge. Of the seven attempts, only four were successful, the rest being foiled by ice conditions in the Kara Sea, and on the basis of this record, Baron von Knoop, the Russian entrepreneur who was financing the operation, decided to cut his losses. This ended Dallmann's career in polar waters.