Caps:

The CAMERA follows the Bolex and the old man's hands, as he moves towards a table, sets the Bolex down, and takes a cigarette, we see the smoke. We hear the voice of Fut Jensen, establishing him as the principle teller of our story -

Caps:

last titles fades, slip focus and dissolve to next scene.

Dissolve to next scene

Copenhagen railway terminal 1940's

Train leaves station, passes through landscape

This was not the first time, that Fut Jensen had packed his bags and his cameras and embarked on a mission without much in the way of a briefing. His was the life of the freelance press photographer. He was no specialist - he went where the work took him. 52 years old, without family ties or regular work, he was free to choose.

For Fut, the Kosmos assignment was just another of Hakon Mielche's crazy projects. Hakon used his contacts to get the work, Fut covered the story, Hakon handled the money.

As he travelled to Sandefjord in September 1948, he was probably unaware that the next eight months would give him a unique insight into an industry which was not yet at its peak, but whose days were numbered.

cut to

Fut's footage

Sandefjord 1948

Sandefjord / Tønsberg

(description of commercial whaling and Norwegian whaling traditions, and the development of pelagic whaling fleets and the discovery of large whale stocks around Antarctica)

By the 1940's life on board a whaling ship was reasonably civilised, but the work was hard. The crew prepared for the hunting season.

possible cutaways from Fut's footage and other archive material

(description of life at sea, working conditions, pay, relationships between the crew)

Supplement with other archive film / stills

Mounting a whaling expedition was no small investment - fuel, provisions and wages for the crews of Kosmos III and her 10 harpoon vessels would have cost (description of cost in 1948). On top of that would be the cost of financing the ships themselves.

Whaling was big business, and the Norwegians lead the field. In the 1948/49 season, commercial whaling fleets from 13 nations would catch their quota of nearly 49,000 whales worldwide - of which over 16,500 (34%) would be landed by Norwegian vessels.

(Fut continues his story)

Archive footage / stills / icon -

supplemented by Fut's footage

Whales had been hunted commercially for hundreds of years. The early impact on whale populations was limited, by the capacity of the ships and the sheer amount of blubber which had to be sailed home to port for processing. This limited most whaling to seas within easy reach of a coastal whaling station.

But most great whales do not live near the coast - their feeding and breeding grounds lay far out into the deep oceans of the world.

And whales were difficult to catch and kill - harpooning a whale from an open boat was a dangerous enterprise, in which many a crew would be tossed into the icy waters by a casual slap of the whales flipper or fluke,

So for many years, the whales had the advantage.

But whales were much sought after for their blubber - from which one could render the finest lamp oil and soap, and for their baleen - the horny plates on the inside of the mouth of baleen whales which was a valuable in the days before plastic.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, several developments lead to dramatic changes in the scale of commercial whaling.

American whalers developed the tryworks - an iron cauldron in a brick built oven, installed on the deck of the ship - the bulky whale blubber could then be rendered to oil at sea, saving time and valuable cargo space.

With the development of the tryworks, it was only a matter of time before whalers could follow the whales far into the remote ocean waters of the earth. 

In 1748 Another development in USA made one great whale - the sperm whale - a particular target for commercial whaling. A method was found to make a superior grade of candle from spermaceti - the waxy substance found in the head of the sperm whale. In these days before gas or electric light, whale oil, and now whale wax candles, were the preferred light source for wealthier homes and businesses, giving a clean-burning light which did not give off fumes.

Yankee whalers began to pursue the sperm whale off the coasts of South America.

But it was the advent of steam a century later, which brought the commercial whalers to the deep ocean hunting grounds in great numbers.

In 1863 - Svend Foyn - a Norwegian shipowner built the first steam-powered whaling vessel, and equipped it with his own invention - the harpoon cannon. From the relative safety of the ships foredeck, this cannon fired a harpoon with an explosive charge, enabling whalers to kill whales from greater distances, and achieving a much higher kill rate.

The great whales, whose ocean habitat and swift movement in the water had long protected them, were now within the hunters grasp.

Whale hunt on a Kosmos harpoon ship

(Fut's footage)

pursuit of whale, strike & kill, dead whales tied to the side of harpoon vessel

Fut's footage from Kosmos III

The Kosmos fleet was efficient in its work. The 10 harpoon vessels patrolled the ocean, and were small and swift enough to pursue a whale.. When a whale was sighted the crew responded quickly.

cutaways to Fut's footage from harpoon ship

Surviving Norwegian commercial whaler

describing -

The whales remain submerged for up to an hour, then return to the surface for air - breaking the surface every half to whole minute to blow air out of their blowholes and to take new air in. This process would be repeated several times, and was often the only chance which the whalers had to sight, pursue, reach and harpoon the whale.

Sometimes the whalers would get a better chance, as the whale would breach the surface, shooting itself halfway out of the water in some sort of play. Then it would resurface several times for air.

When a whale was sighted, everyone concentrated on the job in hand - another whale killed meant a share in a greater catch for all the crew.

When he was sure that the ship would not get a better position in relation to the whale, the harpooner would take aim and fire.

With the good harpooners and the good ships, usually everything went well, but some were a better shot than others, and sometimes the harpoon did not fire, or if it fired and struck the whale, it might fail to detonate - then you had a whale - maybe over 100 tons, still alive, pulling at the harpoon line.

securing the catch and bringing it to Kosmos III

(Fut's footage)

The harpoon vessels would catch the whales, usually leaving the dead whale floating with a marker flag whilst the vessel pursued other whales. Then, with as many whales as they could tow, the harpoon crew would steam towards Kosmos III to deliver their catch.

Where whalers of the sailing ship era butchered their catch in the water at the side of the ship, commercial whalers of the steam and diesel age had bigger ships with machines to help with the work. The whale would be hauled up onto the deck, where butchering would take place.

Kosmos III had a huge open deck which could accommodate several whales at a time. But despite the mechanical conveniences, butchering was still hard and dirty work.

cutaways to Fut's footage from Kosmos III

Surviving Norwegian commercial whaler

(describing)

The butchering process - how many men, how long did it take, which parts of the whale were used, which were discarded?

The hierarchy of the butchering crew - who did which job?

Which jobs were most sought after, which most shunned?

How long was the working day, how many whales would be processed, and how quickly? How did the size of the catch influence the whalers share? How were the shares divided?

Fut's footage

supplemented with other archive material

This was the heyday of commercial whaling - a huge expense and investment of manual effort, but the prize was even greater.

The entire economic system in the whaling grounds encouraged everyone involved to catch as many whales as possible.

In the 1940's - in fact right up to the 1960's, whaling continued to be a boom industry. Despite the fact that electricity had long obliterated the market for whale oil for lighting, and baleen had been surpassed by other materials, there was still a market for whale products.

The second world war had destroyed the agricultural economies of Europe, creating foodstuff shortages which would last well into the 50's. The worldwide shortage of fat - for margarine and other food products - created a growing market for whale oil.

Whale oil was still an important raw material in the manufacture of soap and textile dyes, as a hardening agent in steel production, and as a softener in the production of hemp and sisal rope.

Like coal, oil, corn and coffee, whale oil was a commodity, for which there was a worldwide market. This market was dominated by the soap and chemical giant Unilever, whose international manufacture and purchasing power was so great, as to be able to dictate the market price for whale oil.

Although most whaling nations had some tradition for eating whale meat at home, there was limited export market for whale meat for human consumption. Some whale meat was processed for animal fodder or agricultural fertiliser, but in many cases, the meat was simply thrown overboard.

Person with historical insight - TBA

describing -

The hunger of the whale produce market during the 20's and 30's which lead to the industrialisation of commercial whaling.

The effect of this growth on the great whales of the Antarctic

By the mid forties, the major whaling nations were concerned that the growth of commercial whaling would eventually deplete the whale stocks, and with that - the harvest.

Their first concern was not for the whales as a marine species, but for the survival of the commercial whaling industry, on which many a fortune depended.

In 1945 Norway and Great Britain - two of the largest players in the Antarctic - introduced a quota system, which they were quick to use in their efforts to prevent other nations whaling in the waters which traditionally had been under Norwegian and British monopoly.

But other whaling nations were also concerned, and in December 1946 in Washington DC, they held the first International convention on the regulation of whaling, arriving at an agreement which laid the foundation for the International Whaling Commission.

Norway did not participate in this convention, but in December 1948 - along with 13 other whaling nations, Norway ratified the convention agreement and so became a founding member of the IWC. The tide was turning.

When Anders Jahre engaged Fut to film the Kosmos voyage, whaling was still a respectable and profitable business, especially in Norway. Before he would return with his footage, serious questions were beginning to be asked about the effect of commercial whaling on the whales. Little could Fut realise, that Anders Jahre in Sandefjord had other things on his mind.

Fut narrates his film

cut to

footage of Kosmos fleet
 
 
 

Stills of Fut at work on Kosmos III

cut to 

Fut's apartment

projector still running,

Fut produces the catch log.

Fut's footage of Kosmos fleet

Though people were concerned about the fate of the great whales, in 1949 little was known about them. The size of the population - today an essential parameter in deciding whether a harvest is sustainable, was still a mystery. The only statistics which were available, were the harvest reports from the whaling fleets, which gave no basis for determining population size. The newly formed IWC was still finding its feet, the scientific research into whales and whaling which we know today, was yet a pipe-dream.

(location TBA)

cutaways to Fut's footage of Kosmos

Person with historical / scientific insight - TBA

(probably same person as scene 21)

describing -

What factors determine the sustainability of a given whale population? How many individuals must survive, to ensure a stable, preferably slightly increasing, population?

What is known today about the extent to which the great whales of the Antarctic were threatened? Were all whales under threat, or was it certain (blue) whales in particular?

Exactly how and when did the IWC member states face up to the reality - and act?

When did the whalers realise that their days were numbered?

(location TBA)

cutaways to Fut's footage of Kosmos

Surviving Norwegian commercial whaler(s)

describing -

Whaling was our life - we'd grown up knowing that one day, we would follow our fathers to sea. Our hometowns of Tønsberg and Sandefjord had been whaling for generations, it was in our blood.

In those days whaling was important - because whales were important for everyone back in Europe. No-one was telling us that whaling was bad. 

We were proud of our work, especially the harpooners - they were the elite. We were whalers and we didn't know how to do anything but whale.

Fut's footage of Kosmos
 
 
 
 
 

(the voiceover text could be supported by, or replaced with graphics)

By the middle of March 1949, the Antarctic summer was drawing to a close, and with it, the whaling season. 

10 Norwegian and 4 British fleets had had a successful voyage -

6,016 Blue whales

14,689 Fin whales

3,602 Sperm whales

15 Sei whales

and 5 (Knøl) whales

all in all a total of 24,227 whales, realising over 1.3 million kg/ltr (?) whale oil and 177,000 (ditto) sperm oil.

Including bi-products such as baleen, liver oil, meat and meat-extract, the cargo of the 14 fleets would be worth (value) on the whaling commodity markets.

Kosmos III set course for home. During the six week voyage back to Sandefjord, the crew would strip and clean the vessel, and stow the tackle for the next season.

The ships main deck, wood-covered to protect the butchering tools, was broken up and thrown overboard - before Kosmos III would return to the whaling grounds, a new deck would be laid.

(projector still running)

the film runs out, cut to
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fut's projector, as Fut stops the motor and removes the reel, returning it to the film can (I know he hasn't rewound it - theatrical license!)

archive footage - ideally not Fut's

(though Fut's could be used in B/W or as stills)

Anders Jahre could read the writing on the wall - though commercial whaling continued at full steam until 1961, where it reached an all time high,. Then as scientific studies revealed the true madness of commercial whaling in the Antarctic, quotas were tightened and eventually, in 1964, the IWC banned the hunting of the blue whale in Antarctic waters.

For a two decades the commercial whaling industry responded to the new restrictions by refocusing their hunt on other great whales, which only served to threaten these.

By the late 70's and early 80's, protests against commercial whaling by environmental organisations and the animal welfare movement had mobilised public opinion against the whalers and their factory fleets.

location TBA

Person with historical / scientific insight - TBA

(probably same person as scenes 21 & 25)

describing -

Commercial whaling had dug its own grave, by over harvesting the resources on which it was dependent.

Norway has a major responsibility for the situation, and many people in Norway - an otherwise environmentally conscious society - feel a sense of responsibility for this dark chapter in their nation's history.

The outcome would be inevitable - the end of commercial whaling.

Archive material (TBA)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

(postscripts of the demise of the leading characters could be captions over portrait photos instead)

In 1984 the IWC agreed on a worldwide ban on commercial whaling. Canada, whose seal harvests were also under worldwide criticism, walked out of the IWC in protest and has never returned.

Some countries, including Japan and Norway, continue to whale in protest against the IWC ban. Some whales continue to be hunted for the purpose of scientific study. Today, the only hunts of large whales for human consumption which are recognised by the IWC are those conducted by indigenous peoples, for whom the whale has important cultural, nutritional and spiritual significance.

And the great whales of the Antarctic? They are now protected - in 1994 the International Whaling Commission established the Southern Ocean Sanctuary in the waters around Antarctica, The factory ships and harpoon escorts no longer ply these waters, some are laid up in remote harbours around the world, the rest have been broken up for scrap.

Anders Jahre moved into other maritime activities, consolidating the fortune which he had built up in the Southern ocean, a fortune which would survive him when he died in 1982.

Fut Jensen did not live to see the end of commercial whaling, he died in 1983, having given his film to Ib Rømer to clear his debts.

Hakon Mielche died soon afterwards, he never released Fut's film from the Kosmos assignment.