He was born in June 4, 1903 in Solum, Porsgrunn, Norway. His
parents Edawrd Hansen Vik and Ana María Pederson. He
was the youngest of 6 brothers and studied in a public school
of his town, and then he entered the Engineering Navy School
– Akers Mekaniske Verksted – which maintained the
marine in Oslo. In 1.921 he began the naval practices as a crew
member. He went in th M.S.
ULVA of Norway flag embarked as an engine room chief. They
left Brevik and after 3 months and means of the calm passage
they arrived at Guayaquil the 23 of June, 1.926.
The ship belonged to a norwegian company norwegian who came
to the country to install a factory of sardines in the Galápagos
Islands, but the missed handlings of the executives who lived
in Guayaquil and Quito spoiled the project. In April of the
27 the Ecuadorian government seized the ship like payment
of the debts that the company had contracted in the country
and it gave it Navy to the national, it changed of flag and
it adopted the name of "Mother Country". The Minister
military, Leonardo Palaces, authorized the Governor of Guayas,
Amalio Puga Bustamante, that he contracted the personnel.
Meanwhile, he had made friendship with Captain Eduardo Whilley
Lecaro, husband of Mercedes Serrano Avilés, who presented
to him her sister-in-law, Panchita, and the love was born.
Her father, Dr. Pedro Martín Serrano Martinez, native
orthodontist of Cuenca, when seeing that the romance progressed,
requested information of bachelorism in Norway and when he
had the answer gave it´s approval.
In 1.928 Herman began to work for the company S. K. F. that
concerned of Sweden Polar Atlas diesel motors. The marriage
took place on October 18, 1930 in the house of the fiancèe
located in Malecón and Panama. It was a happy union
and in time, five children were born. Then, he went to Esmeraldas
on behalf of S. K. F to install the potable water plant and
the system of pumps for the potable water of this population.
In 1931 he contributed with his work in the cleaning of Guayaquil
installing the first networks of sewage system. In 1935 happened
to the Anglian Ecuadorian Oil Field, proprietor of oil wells
of the peninsula of Santa Elena, like control and engine room
chief of the three boats that this company had brought of
England: "Ciprés", "Guaro" and
"Anniedhit" for the fuel transport of the refinery
La Libertad to the Guayaquil, Manta, Bahía de Caráquez
and Esmeralda´s ports. In this stage he lived with his
people in the camping of Ancón. Víctor Emilio
Estrada Sciacaluga contracted the construction of metallic
doors of combination for the warehouses where he kept the
money and documents from Bank La Previsora and for the squares
of security of the clients in the cellar of the new building
and it corresponded to him to embed the facilities acquired
in the United States: metallic windows for the attention to
the public, banister rails, lamps and electrical system in
general.
Dr. Serrano had been transferred at the beginning of century
XX with its parents to New York, studied in Columbia University
and followed the odontolgy race. Back in Guayaquil he opened
a dental doctor's office, later he put the Serrano Farmacy
and it concerned pharmaceutical and material products of odontolgy
of the famous North American marks Vitamina Corp. and White.
Also he concerned oil of liver of Norwegian codfish of the
Iceland mark. He appeared between the founders of the Faculty
of Odontolgy of the University of Guayaquil, and the hall
honor of this Faculty took his name.
In 1939 he was Superintendent of mechanics in the mining
camping of Macuchi, Province of Cotopaxi, where the "Cotopaxi
Exploration Co. of Ecuador" extracted mineral earth or
quartz that contained gold, silver, receives, iron, et., to
send to the United States. Between Macuchi and Quevedo ninety
kilometers existed that communicated through a stone wagon
carved in the mountain. The zone is very steep and rains throughout
the year. The mineral earth was transported in concerned coats
of the United States of 250 pounds each . In 1941 the company
decided to mount a high furnace to eliminate the material
earth and to avoid the purest plate minerals of 300 to 350
pounds. The reconstruction of the smelting included the furnace
of approximately 70 meters in length by 25 of wide and 15
of height with brought refractory bricks of the United States.
He was sent to Guayaquil to organize the transportation of
petroleum for the combustion in the burners and organized
a camping in San Camilo as opposed to Quevedo. The boats raised
by the river with four tanks that made sure on subject copper
plates to the bottom and returned with the empty tanks to
Guayaquil, worked every day of the year, to the haste. Each
boat was lead by a tow to motor to diesel engine. The mineral
plates left Macuchi, happened through Quevedo and Guayaquil,
finally was mobilized in the barges of the Customs until the
boats of the Grace Line in Puná. The Cotopaxi had it´s
deposits, grills, drydocks and other facilities in Ría
and El Oro. There, in the warehouses they stored the copper
plates, the merchandises that were sent to the mine and a
the 42 oxygen plant but the Company decided to leave the mine
and the country, the facilities of Guayaquil were sold by
Hansen Vik to Luis Noboa Naranjo, unique interested in his
purchase, because it had installed the Piladora Ecuador and
it needed the equipment.
Herman Hansen Vik worked by short time for Noboa in a company
destined to the repair and maintenance of the boats and facilities
just acquired and in 1945 he passed of first engineer and
transport to the Frutera Sudamericana Co. Ltda. who exported
oranges and bananas to Chile and imported grapes, apples,
pears, peach trees, cherries, iron in rods and saltpeter of
that country. The facilities where installed at the border
of the river and were neighbors of the Electric Company of
Ecuador and the National Factory of Footwear. The Fruit one
also was owner of towing barges and for the transport of the
banana tree mainly. With time it opened an electronic factory
to repair electrical motors and to load batteries Willard,
Firestone, Goodyear, Saaj, Varta and Bosch.
The Lloyd's of London, at the request of Anglo Ecuadorian
Oil Fields Co. named him inspector of the facilities and refrigerator
chamber of the boats that embarked banana trees in the ports
of Guayaquil, Puná, Puerto Bolivar, Bahía de
Caráquez and Esmeraldas, having to approve them before
each boarding, with registry of the temperature and operation
of the machinery during the time of cooling so that the insurer
is covered against any reclamation. The transfer to those
ports, without wagon like those of now, was made by sea or
small plane. The trip to Puná delayed five hours when
there was incoming tide and three with projection.
In 1951 he was head of plant water-treatment of Guayaquil
in La Toma and it corresponded to repair pumping groups both
to him marks Workinton of North American manufacture and the
installation of both pumping groups marks to Fairbanks Morse
of motors diesel engine, but the in 1953 he resigned with
the new municipal administration of Pedro Menéndez
Gilbert.
He passed away in Guayaquil, January 15 of 1,956 when he
was 53 years old.
