Marseille

"simply because a soldier in Marseille had decided to smoke a cigarette, my Jewish family was alive, and free, and able to start life over again."

"The first years after the "mini-crash" in 1981 were a struggle to make the boats profitable. Fuel expenses were high, while freight revenues were low. Aboard the "Northern Tiger" and "Northern Lynx" the contrast was evident. Diesel and other fuels sloshed in the cargo tanks. The shipping company was poorly paid to transport products they later had to buy at a high price to run the ship engines. It would certainly help if one could secure some of this fuel for free. Who discovered the method is unknown, but a clever way was found to "cheat" a bit extra during loading. The cargo inspectors measured the load by looking through a hole on the side of the tank. If the ship was tilted half a degree, the liquid came lower up on the tank wall, so the inspectors believed there was less cargo than there actually was on board. The trick was first used on a trip with "Tiger" from Antwerp to Marseille in December 1982. Its success proved addictive, and during the winter, they managed to acquire about 480 tons of fuel, saving the shipping company 900,000 kroner. The saved expenses were helpful during the lean times. The carrot for the Norwegian officers was travel checks worth 50 dollars for each ton they managed to acquire. From January 1983, "Lynx" also joined the scheme."