In the autumn of 1975, the freighter “Evelyn Karin” was thrown ashore on Barøya in Ofoten in dramatic circumstances after having suffered an engine breakdown.
Many of us have probably noticed the now rusty shipwreck on the southern tip of Barøy, when we have traveled by ferry between Lødingen and Bognes, without knowing the drama that unfolded on that autumn day in 1975 when the ship sank.
As the years have passed, the Vestfjord’s storms have pushed her well above the flood target, so that she is now quite safe from all the world’s scrap iron price developments, placed approx. 40-50 meters inside on dry land.
Transported cement
“Evelyn Karin” belonged to Harald Jacobsen and went in freight with cement from Norcem in Kjøpsvik to various places in Northern Norway.
The wind was stiff to strong gale when she came out of Tjeldsundet on a trip south and was going into Tysfjorden.
The wind picked up during the afternoon and at Storboen just south of Barøyodden, the ship received two or three powerful breakers that threw the batteries down over the oil filter. It broke, the engine emptied of oil, and after about five minutes it stopped. The ship drifted north. On board was a crew of four.
No help to get
They barely got in touch with Bodø Radio on VHF.
The ferry between Bognes and Lødingen was also called.
They were conducting a NATO exercise in the area and two naval vessels arrived.
The wind was too strong for the crew of the Lødingen ferry to dare to help, and the navy could not come to the rescue either.
The crew tried to deploy a life raft, but it was quickly caught by the wind. The anchor chain broke. Thus, the “Evelyn Karin” drifted helplessly towards Barøya, while the autumn darkness descended.
Jumped ashore
When the ship was right under land, one of the crew jumped overboard with a rope around his waist.
He was thrown around in the waves, but managed to get on land.
The others also jumped overboard, and thanks to the rope they could be pulled ashore.
Wet and cold, they walked across the island to Barøy lighthouse, which at that time was manned.
All four survived the accident without any form of physical injuries.
Ended up on land
The boat was thrown ashore during the night, and the difficult location meant that the insurance company gave up on having the boat removed, which to this day lies on Barøy as visible evidence of the dramatic autumn day in the seventies.
Source: Article in the Yearbook for Ballangen 2007, author: Bodil Kristine Fagerthun
Photo: Thormod Leonhardsen
