Johannes Solstad, a long-time shipowner and founder of Norwegian offshore support vessel operator Solstad Offshore, died on Monday, May 25.
The news was confirmed by Lars Peder Solstad, his son and current CEO of Solstad Offshore, in a social media post the following day.
The elder Solstad had spent his entire life in shipping, including serving as a ship captain with the Norwegian America Line and as a superintendent for the Scandinavian East-Africa Line, based on Madagascar Island, before he established Solstad Rederi in 1964.
"At the age of 34, he founded Solstad Rederi, and has been a pioneer in offshore shipping since the beginning of the Norwegian oil adventure," Lars Peder Solstad wrote about his father.
Offshore vessels and seafarers had remained Johannes Solstad's main interest, and he was still receiving market updates several times a week, Solstad Offshore said in a social media post on Mr Solstad's 95th birthday on August 4, 2025.
"I dreamed of owning my own ship ever since I was a little boy, but reality turned out to be much greater than the dream," Johannes Solstad said in 2014.
