Sigval Bergesen d.y. (27 April 1893 – 7 May 1980) was one of Norway’s leading shipping magnates and industrial entrepreneurs.

Personal life

He was born in

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

as a son of

Sigval Bergesen Berge Sigval Natanael Bergesen (3 April 1863 – 4 December 1956) was a Norwegian shipowner and industrialist who served as a member of the Norwegian Parliament . Bergesen was born at Farsund in Vest-Agder, Norway. He was a son of Ole Berg ...

(1863–1956), who was also a shipping magnate, and Rachel Racine (1866–1936). He was a grandson of Ole Bergesen, brother of Ole Bergesen and uncle of

Berge Sigval Natanael Bergesen Berge Sigval Natanael Bergesen (6 September 1914 – 10 July 1965) was a Norwegian ship-owner. He was born in Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the f ...

and Ole Bergesen. He was a maternal grandfather of

Morten Sigval Bergesen Morten Sigval Bergesen (born 2 June 1951) is a Norwegian ship-owner. He was born in Stockholm as a grandson of Sigval Bergesen the Younger. He was also a great-grandson of Sigval Bergesen Berge Sigval Natanael Bergesen (3 April 1863 – 4 ...

and

Petter C. G. Sundt Petter Christian Grüner Sundt (9 April 1945 – 28 November 2007) was a Norwegian shipping magnate and businessman. Together with his cousin Morten Sig. Bergesen, in 1976 he took over the leadership of the company Bergesen d.y. after his gra ...

. He was married twice; first to Ingerid Sømme (1895–1980) from December 1916 to 1945. She was a sister of

Iacob Dybwad Sømme Iacob Dybwad Sømme (5 September 1898 – 3 March 1944) was a Norwegian ichthyologist and resistance member. Personal life He was born in Etnedal as a son of chief physician Jacob Dybwad Sømme (1866–1923) and Helene Sofie Sørensen (1870–1 ...

and

Sven Sømme Sven Sømme (19 November 1904 – 2 December 1961) was a Norwegian zoologist and ichthyologist. He was born in Ringsaker to physician Jacob Dybwad Sømme and Helene Sofie Sørensen. He was a brother of zoologist Iacob Dybwad Sømme, and his ...

. From 1945 he was married to Nanki de Fekete (1903–1983), a former wife of

Emil Lie Emil Lie (29 July 1897 – 3 August 1976) was a Norwegian sculptor. Lie was born in Berchtesgaden to novelist Bernt Lie and Hedvig Mariboe Aubert. He was married three times, and among his fathers-in-law were ship owner Lars Christensen and ...

Career

In 1935 he broke with his father to form his own company,

Bergesen d.y. Bergesen d.y. ASA was a Norwegian shipping company, and one of the world's largest. The company was founded by Sigval Bergesen d.y. (1893–1980). He was the son of Sigval Bergesen, who was also a shipping magnate, but in 1935 he broke with ...

The same year he bought the tanker ''President de Vogue'' (renamed ''Bergesund''), in 1937 ''Charles Racine'' and in 1939 ''Anders Jahre'' (renamed ''Bergeland''). By the time of the war he then had three major tankers, though ''Charles Racine'' was hit by torpedoes and destroyed in 1942. Bergesen used the war to position himself in the market, and by 1950 he had four ships in his fleet, by 1955 seven, and 16 by 1970. In 1942 he also took control of

Rosenberg Mekaniske Verksted Rosenberg, Rosenburg or Rozenburg may refer to: Places * Rosenberg (Baden), a municipality in the district of Neckar-Odenwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany * Rosenberg (Ostalb), a municipality in the district of Ostalbkreis, Baden-Württemberg, G ...

, a major Norwegian

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

. Rosenberg became a major part of Bergesen's industrial empire, and by the time it was sold to Kværner in 1970, 19 ships had been built there. By then Bergesen was one of the largest shipping companies in the world. Bergesen was intimately involved in company affairs until an old age, but in 1976 he was forced to retire for medical reasons. Management of the company was handed over to his two grandchildren, Petter C. G. Sundt and Morten Sigval Bergesen. He had then built up a fleet totaling seven million metric tons dead weight.

References

1893 births 1980 deaths People from Stavanger Norwegian company founders Norwegian businesspeople in shipping BW Group {{Norway-business-bio-stub