WIRÉNS REDERI A/B.

Brown 1995 supplies the flag and funnel. A photograph of Frej confirms the funnel, but with a narrow black top; the flag is blue.

Josef Nüsse’s blue table flag has a gold W and narrow gold border.

The cap-badge variants are attributed to Wiréns Bogser. W181 shows a yellow W on black, but the black may be merely the cloth surrounding a sewn emblem; a narrow yellow border is also uncertain. W182 appears more convincing as a black-over-yellow bicolour with the W counterchanged and is also shown on the Swedish Cap Badges website.

Anton Wirén formed the tug business in 1901. After his death in 1953 his sons Axel, Torsten and Hans established Wiréns Mudderverk, which operated from 1954 to 1967 before its activity was sold to Skanska Cementgjuteriet. Hans continued Wiréns Rederi’s tug business until his death in 1974, when Thomas Wirén took over. Subsidiaries included Wirship, Rederi Nestor and Piteå Bogserbåts. Nilsson Bogserbåtar was acquired in 1978 and Bengt Rönnbäck Partrederi in 1982. Following the bankruptcy of the Kalix Sjötjänst joint venture, Gottfrid Åström & Söner was taken over in 1992.

The account describes bankruptcy in 1987 and reconstruction in 1988 as Marine Carrier, but Rosanoski qualifies this because Wiréns continued to appear in Lloyd’s. The register records a name change from Wiréns R/A to Wiréns Rederi in 1989. A 2006 commentary instead describes Marine Carrier as established in 2005 to conduct shipping operations. By 2007 operations were listed under Marine Carrier, yet Wiréns reappeared separately in 2008 at the same address and with the same contact details.

Sweden: Piteá, with Strömberg given in Lloyd’s 1956–1957.