Erling Dekke Næss

Erling Dekke Næss, (5 September 1901 – 7 February 1993) was a Norwegian shipowner and businessman. Brother of philosopher Arne Dekke Næss, his nephew was the mountaineer and businessman Arne Næss Jr. Best known for his early adoption of flags of convenience, Næss was Deputy Head of Nortraship's New York office from 1942 to 1946. Næss was the initiator behind the OBO carrier. He is also credited as proposing the very successful Norwegian International Ship Register, which allowed Norwegian shipowners to compete on an equal footing with flags of convenience.

Erling Dekke Næss was born in Bergen, Norway and was son of Ragnar Næss, a businessman and banker. He had two brothers, the younger being the well-known philosopher Arne Næss. The family moved to Kristiania in 1911 were his father died in 1913. The family seems to have been well off, although in no way affluent. Næss studied economy at the Royal Frederick University and earned a B.S. in 1920, achieved mostly by studying on his own. He contemplated continued studies and travelled to Britain to finish a Ph.D. at the London School of Economics.

Næss however did not have the financial resources to study, so he had to work; after a short stint at Midland Bank he changed over to C. J. Hambro & Son. He started out as a typist, writing letters to Scandinavian customers, but after a year he was made assistant in the new currency department. In the evenings he continued his studies in economics, and was greatly influenced by John Maynard Keynes. Of special interest for his research and work were the imbalances created by the German war reparations, as their consequences could be seen clearly in the currency market with the German mark rapidly losing value against other main currencies. The young Næss was amazed at being in the center of the disastrous decline of the mark, severely undermining the Weimar Republic. By the middle of 1923 Næss decided to concentrate on his Ph.D. and thus ended his engagement with the bank.

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