John Solberg left home to work at sea when he was only 15 years of age. Looking at 15 year-olds growing up today, glued to their parents' wallets, I am kind of surprised that a kid that age could ever manage it alone, but John Solberg did, and with a very reasonable degree of success.
17 years at sea
"It was common for youths back then to leave home and explore the world for a few years", Solberg says. And it wasn't like they were returning to their parents every weekend or second weekend. In those days, a period of 18 months at sea had to be served before qualifying for a free journey home. Apart from 4 years spent in maritime schools, John was at sea for 17 years working for several shipping companies as well as a stint in the Royal Norwegian Navy. In 1974 however, after serving as a captain for 4 years, Solberg went ashore. "You make some sacrifices when you choose a life at sea", Solberg explains. "I married early and we had a son in 1964 and after so many years spending most of my life away from my loved ones, I felt a need to be more present in their lives". That's not something one can argue with, but Solberg elaborates; "when you work on a vessel, the job comes first. Always. There is a tendency to bring the same work mode with you when moving from vessel to shore-side work. And in a way that puts one's family second. As for life onboard, I spent most of my time at sea on parcel and solvent carriers, which meant hard work and long hours. Nonetheless, we also had time for social events such as international football matches and sporting arrangements organised by the Norwegian Seamen's Welfare Service, but there is always something missing when your family is alone at home".
Signing off and going ashore
Solberg finished his service at sea in 1974 and joined the shipping company of Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi A/S (KGJS), where he was instrumental in establishing and managing their claims department. It would seem that he was far from idle in this position; "I have worked a lot throughout my career, but probably not as much as many of my superintendent colleagues. They have a stressful job with a lot of time spent away from home. It is not unusual in this industry to work 1¼ times the normal working year, but to me it has been interesting and challenging, and I have been given the opportunity to reach my goals, and to get to that point, one has to put in some extra effort".
Having made that additional effort throughout more than 30 years, it is only natural to assume that Solberg will be missed now that he is retiring.
"I don't believe I will be missed in a strictly professional sense. The Insurance department has a wealth of experience and my successor will, without a shadow of a doubt, do a good job. We had an overlap period of almost two years where my objective was to convey as much experience as I possibly could so that my departure would not have such an impact. I have no desire to cling to the job - in the intense shipping business events take place all the time and it's my belief that I would soon be outmoded if I wasn't working on a regular basis. Having worked since 1957 I feel that enough is enough. However, I have promised to be available, if required, in order to finalise a couple of extensive and somewhat complicated cases".
Enjoying life as a senior citizen
If he keeps his promise of not clinging to the job, his wife Aslaug will be the beneficiary; "I'll spend more time with my wife, although we haven't made any great plans for our retirement yet. I suppose we'll do pretty much as we please, travelling and spending time with family and friends or pursuing whatever other possibilities that turn up". A common picture of a typical pensioner's lifestyle often includes one or more cabins in the mountains or by the sea that need to be taken care of, but Solberg firmly dismisses the presumption; "No cabin is going to tie me down - I'm my own man!"
Jakob Sande and Peer Gynt
Maybe Solberg will instead get time to further indulge in his hobbies, one of which is reading historical books and learning about the past. "Growing up I was not very fond of history, but over the years I have grown to love both literature and history". He mentions books about Napoleon, Churchill, and Stalin, in addition to his favourite author, Jakob Sande*, in whose literature Solberg has many times recognized himself. "I grew up in a farming family in the eastern part of Norway and was familiar with the "people of humble means" of whom Sande often wrote about. We were bound by a respect for the authorities, a topic which is also a recurring theme in Sande's literary work". However, the young Solberg must have been able to rise above this humbleness, maybe with a little help from another of his literary favourites, Ibsen's "Peer Gynt". Young Peer confronted the meekness and narrow-mindedness that characterized what was then seen as "typical Norwegian" through his fantasy and lies, and even if one would never dream of suggesting there is a similarity between Solberg's hardworking career and Peer Gynt's larger-than-life lies and stories, there is still a similarity in the way they both put their respect for authority aside in order to achieve something for themselves. And Solberg is a true fan of Ibsen's character: "I have seen Peer Gynt in various theatrical settings about ten times, and not for the last time either, as it continues to fascinate me. The version that stands out most of all is the open stage performance at Gålå in Gulbrandsdalen - highly recommended to all who are interested in Ibsen!"
Learning by doing - and from experience
Solberg has managed to transfer his capacity for learning from history to his career. As manager for KGJS's Claims Department, he was aware early on that they should explore and learn from all of the incidents the company became involved in. "Experience from claims handling was fed back to the Chartering and Operations departments so that the facts ascertained here could be taken into consideration when quoting for business or setting freight rates. In fact, this was more important than negotiating claim settlements. Loss Prevention today is taken care of in a much more professional and structured manner by the Safety and Quality Department. And ever since Norwegian Hull Club started their Loss Prevention Department (now called Client Services), we have worked closely together learning from each other. We have always been, and will continue to be, a hands-on organisation in relation to all of our cases, but NHC has been Claims Lead on H&M issues for us since the mid 90s and we have enjoyed superb cooperation with what I regard as the world's best claims department. In addition, we have also worked together to develop services based on our common experience". Solberg can rest assured that the cooperation between the two and Norwegian Hull Club's Claims and Client Services will continue to be enhanced in the years to come.
Leaving the building, but keeping the memories
Now that he leaves his workplace for the prospect of quieter days, one becomes naturally curious as to what Solberg thinks he will miss most from his more than 50-year long career in shipping "I have travelled quite a lot over the years, and some of the people I've met, and their personalities and cultural backgrounds, have left a strong and lasting impression. I've made some good friends in many parts of the world, and I suppose I will miss that part of the job. Besides that I'm happy just looking back at the fond memories from a long career, of which the ones that come readily to mind are a couple of lawsuits we won outright after long, thorough, and hard work".
And that is how Norwegian Hull Club has learnt to know John Solberg; as a hardworking and thorough person determined to reach whatever goal he is aiming for, and after more than 50 years in the shipping industry, there can be no doubt that his commitment has been both solid and longstanding. We would like to thank John for the excellent cooperation he has shown throughout the years and wish him all the best in his well-earned retirement.
*Jakob Sande: Norwegian writer and poet, 1906-1967.