For Those with Saltwater in Their Veins

The Scythian philosopher Anacharsis (6th century B.C.) said: “There are three sorts of people: those who are alive, those who are dead and those who are at sea.”

Many of those onboard the Nella Dan when she grounded in December 1987 never went to sea again. Such was their passion for the ship.

At that time, most of the crew were single, a wild bunch with saltwater in their veins, likely to be found partying together during their time ashore and likely to be telling everyone how Nella Dan was always the first to get to Antarctica at the start of the season despite her newer, more powerful competition.

The 75.5-metre Nella Dan made 124 voyages serving as a supply, expedition and research vessel in northeast Greenland and in Antarctica. She made the Arctic-Antarctic roundtrip each season for over 20 years.

Built in 1961, Nella Dan quickly became the much-loved flagship of the J. Lauritzen polar fleet. After the passing of Knud Lauritzen, his wife Hannelore continued to sail on her.

Families were encouraged to sail. Finn Wollesen, Managing Director of naval architect firm KNUD E. HANSEN, first sailed on the Nella Dan when he was six weeks old. Wollesen's father was a radio operator, and Wollesen grew up to work on Nella Dan himself for three years sailing to Antarctica and Greenland.

She was home to many crewmembers, their families and international research teams for 26 years.

The “little red ship” was specifically designed to boost the research capabilities of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE).

In 1979 she was modified for participation in the internationally coordinated program to study marine living resources in the Southern Ocean: BIOMASS (Biological Investigations of Marine Antarctic Systems and Stocks). This was the first major Australian Antarctic project investigating deep sea marine science, and Nella Dan was modified to support deep sea research trawling with instrument rooms, echo sounders, a computer data logging system and laboratory.

Her ending came in Buckles Bay, Macquarie Island, when she smashed against the rocks on December 3, 1987, while transferring fuel to the Macquarie Island research station. The wind had picked up and the anchor dragged. Everyone was evacuated, and she was refloated several weeks later but caught fire and was scuttled in deep water on December 24.

In 2020, her resting place was mapped during Australian research into underwater earthquakes. She went down in 5,000 meters of water at the bottom of a steep slope that runs from Macquarie Island down to the deep ocean.

“It’s good to see an old friend again, even if it is just a white dot on a map,” said David Lyons, Voyage Leader on the final voyage of Nella Dan. “It’s a fitting resting place for such a legendary ship.”

Her memory is kept alive today through the group Friends of Nella Dan. Their website has a film database which was created with support from the private foundation Lauritzen Fonden.