June 20, 2013
Ports of the World: Gothenburg, Sweden
By going straight ahead into the mouth of the river Göta Älv you reach the shipping city of The North: Gothenburg, Sweden. Passing barren rock islands, you enter the river and further in lies the port of Gothenburg.
Over 40 years ago I worked as a deck boy for the Johnson Line in Stockholm, going to South America. Next I wanted to be a deck officer apprentice on a ship in The Royal East Asia Company in the Broström Group in Gothenburg.
I took the train from Malmö to Gothenburg for an interview with Captain Eriksson. From his window you could see the shipyards and harbour. I looked out and saw the M/S Nihon lying in their shipyard. It was one of the first big container ships for worldwide trade, newly built in Sweden.
Capt. Eriksson asked me: "Do you want to work on that one?" "Yes,thank you, but later," I said. "Now I want the M/S Hokkaido, trading in the Mediterranean, through the Panama Canal and in the Far East." I got the job. It was a great ship, a great route and I was happy.
The port of Gothenburg has a long history in fishing, ship building, shipping, ship supply and trade. Gothenburg was my first port of call and it was here that Ferryl had their first substantial sales in the 1950s.
