A Century at Sea

As World War One drew to a close, Christen Smith left the Royal Norwegian Navy to start his own shipping company. After a stumbling start, he succeeded in creating a totally new shipping segment: heavy-lift transport. Christen Smith’s vessels became the industry standard for ships lifting and carrying locomotives, railway cars, river boats and other heavy cargo that needed to be transported from one continent to another.


One hundred years later, Belships has sailed through wars, upswings and downturns. After leaving the heavy-lift trade almost fifty years ago, the company has been involved in a broad range of shipping activities.


Today, Belships is a significant player in the dry bulk segment, pursuing an ambitious growth strategy.


This is the story about the people, the ships and the many dramatic events that shaped one hundred years of shipping history.


Per Arne Totland is a Norwegian writer of fiction and non-fiction books.


He has previously been the owner and CEO of an Oslo-based consulting firm and a Senior Vice President with a global chemicals group.


He started his career as a journalist and for several years was a reporter and news anchor with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK).