By Richard Bell
One of the surprising attractions in Sheet Harbour is the wreck of the 166-foot sealer/fishing/cargo-carrying Arctic Trader, which sank in 1994 at a dock next to the East River bridge. At low tide, the highest point of the wreck is only a few feet under, putting the wreck on the scuba diver’s list of fairly easy diving spots.
She’s been lying on her side on the bottom there ever since (see page xx on three years of efforts to get the Coast Guard to remove the Arctic Trader in order to build a community-based marina.)
The Cooperator has learned that the Arctic Trader’s current ignominious position belies a fascinating story of a ship that sailed under 6 different names. In addition to her commercial work, she also made two major scientific voyages to the Antarctic.
The following timeline is a condensation of a study published in the scientific journal Polar Record on April 10, 2018, by Magnus Sefland, with a title that included all six of the ship’s names: Brategg: the polar vessel that was also Jopeter, Polarbjørn, Lady Johnson II, Beothic Endeavour and Arctic Trader.
1931—Order for fishing vessel placed by Storegga Ltd. with Trondheim Mechanical Workshop in Trondheim, Norway.
1932—Launch of the Brategg, 166 feet long, 480 gross tons. Starts fishing for halibut off the west coast of Greenland and Iceland.
1934-1935 Royal Norwegian Navy puts the Brategg to work as a coastguard vessel.
1935—Storegga Ltd sells the Brategg at auction to Trondheim Marine Fishery Ltd and she continues making northerly fishing voyages.
1940-1945 Serves as a freighter carrying fish.
1941—Retrofit raises the Brategg to 486 tons.
1947—Sails to the Pacific sector of Antarctica on an expedition funded by Norwegian whaling interests to look for new whaling grounds and conduct other scientific research. Returns to Norway after sailing 27,000 nautical miles, including 11,000 nautical miles south of 50 degrees south.
1949—Sold to Peter S. Brandal & C., fitted with more ribs, renamed the Jopeter. Carries cargo and delivers supplies to Royal Greenland Trading Company’s Danish stations in East Greenland.
1952--Gets a larger main engine, a 1080 h.p. diesel.
1955—Taking supplies to northeast Greenland, gets trapped in the ice, starts taking on water. Abandoned as wrecked, insurance paid.
1956—In August, Danish airplane sights Jopeter stuck on a sandbank in northeast Greenland. After minor repairs, towed back to Denmark. Insurance company sells her back to Peter S. Brandal & Co. and resumes sailing as cargo vessel.
1958—Renamed Polarbjorn after owners reorganize and transfer ship to Polarbjorn Ltd.
1958-1959—In southern summer, Polarbjorn sails to Norway Station in Antarctica for the Norwegian Polar Institute.
1960—Polarbjorn returns to Antarctica. Survives getting trapped in ice with help from Argentine icebreaker.
1960s—Polarbjorn goes sealing off Newfoundland and carrying cargo to East Greenland for Danish and Norwegian governments, and for oil explorations.
1974—Polarbjorn sold to Johnson Combined Enterprises Ltd in Catalina, Newfoundland. Renamed Lady Johnson II. Goes sealing off Newfoundland.
1975-1982 Lady Johnson II goes sealing off Newfoundland.
1982—Lady Johnson II stops sealing with the ban on harp seal pups. Makes only a few freight trips.
1988—Lady Johnson II sold to Beothic Fish Processors Ltd (Bruce Davis) of Badger's Quay, Newfoundland. The new owners rename her as Beothic Endeavour. Inshore shipping in Labrador, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Hudson’s Bay, and the islands of the Canadian Arctic.
1993—Early in the year, two men buy the Beothic Endeavour for $175,000 in cash, carried in shopping bags.
1993—In the spring, the ship appears in Halifax as the Arctic Trader, owned by Avalon Seafood Products Ltd of St. John’s. Crew arrested and charged with smuggling narcotics.
1993-Coast Guard tows the Arctic Trader to the East River in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia. Two arson fires damage the ship.
1994—Arctic Trader sinks in shallow water from unknown causes.
1994-2025—Arctic Trader remains on the bottom, lying on her side. Scuba divers visit the site and strip off portholes and other artifacts.
