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The Ship Owner's Suite is situated by the town's main street. The Suite has 5 beds in two bedrooms with double bed and a bedstead recess. Approx. 85 m2. Exit from the bedroom to a 6 m2 veranda (in the same courtroom as the Colin Archer, N.A.L. and Steamboat Suites). Approx. 125 metres to parking spaces, market place and inner harbour.

Modern kitchen with most technical standard. TV with 7 channels, CD-player, free ADSL. Maritime library. Tiled bathroom with heating element and shower cabinet.

Interior The Ship Owner's Suite		Plan drawing The Ship Owner's Suite

History:
Risør’s history is coloured by shipping. As early as 1613 there were 13 ships registered in Risør Customs District. To begin with, the ships were small and worked in the North Sea trade and to Holland. The size and number of ships increased strongly in the latter half of the seventeen hundreds. Risør’s wealth grew rapidly towards the end of the century. It is worth mentioning that in 1813 there were 163 sailing ships owned by Risør ship owners. It was especially timber cargoes that were shipped out, while different goods from abroad were transported home again.

There were a large number of boat builders and sawmills in Risør district. Often the people who built the ships took part ownership in them. So too did master shipwrights and farmers who had delivered the timber cargoes. Often the ship’s master had a share. Thus share-owned shipping lines developed in Risør.

Henrik Carstensen (born in Laget) 1753-1835 (bachelor) was a high profile captain, ship owner, merchant, privateer and owner of Egeland’s yard--a man with a mixed record.

In the beginning of the eighteen hundreds times were harder because of war and down years and by 1836, Risør’s fleet was halved. In the crisis years, even the Sparebank (Savings Bank) had to take over a couple of ships and several houses. At least the ships were sold for good prices when times improved in the second half of the eighteen hundreds.

In 1860, 62 ship captains lived in Risør. In 1861 the town was hit by a catastrophic fire that destroyed 248 houses. But with better times, the town was quickly rebuilt to its present day form.

It is worth mentioning that export of ice from the district was quite significant from about 1860, with the record year being 1884 when 26,000 tons of ice passed through Risør Customs District. The ice trade declined around the turn of the century and finally ceased with the outbreak of World War I.

There was a short upswing in shipping from 1914 and beyond, when there was much speculation in shipping stocks in Risør.

In the years 1861-1921 there were many small shipping companies in Risør. Well known Risør names such as Juell, I.W. Prebensen, Skaugen, Henriksen, Thiis, O.P. Bratland, Lindstøl, Risør Fjordruter, A/S Finne and Gahrsen are mentioned in the Risør Book.

To begin with, there were sailing ships built of wood, developing into steam driven iron hulls towards the end of the eighteen hundreds. The first steamship was purchased from England in 1857 and named ``Risør.’’ I.W. Prebensen purchased the steamer ``Excellensen´´ in 1875 to meet competition from sailing ships.

Captain I.M. Skaugen formed Skaugens Shipping Line in Risør in 1916. The company was eventually moved to Oslo and still exists today.

The Prebensen family had long traditions of shipping operation in Risør. The last known shipping activity within in Risør is Prebensen and Blakstad, which was established about 1930 and dissolved in the 1950s. We have chosen to highlight P & B – the company’s funnel mark in the Ship Owner’s Suite--since many Risør residents recognise the company name.

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