Svitzer og Suez-krisen 1956-1957: Et dansk bjærgningsselskabs rolle i reetableringen af Vesteuropas olieinfrastruktur

This article explores the role of Svitzer, a Danish Salvage Company, in the reopening of the Suez Canal between October 1956 and April 1957. The imperial and global dimensions of this process, which has not yet seen scholarly interest in neither Danish nor international research, thus go beyond that of Svitzer’s own history and both Danish and international business history. Both the closure and the reopening of the Suez Canal reflected not only a British-French(-Israeli) miscalculation and lack of military capability in shaping events in the Mediterranean, but also the shift to a new imperial paradigm globally in which the old colonial powers had to make space. As part of this shift, the new nuclear powers, the new independent states and Western business networks became more important than hitherto the case. The partnership with the Dutch salvage company and the joint role as the main entrepreneur in the UN undertaking to clear the Suez Canal, which went by the name of United Nations Suez Clearance Organisation, needs to be seen in this light. Against that backdrop, the article calls for more research into the roles of private businesses as service providers for international organisations.