Background
Hansen was born in South Wales, the son of Carl Frederick Hansen, a shipowner of Scandinavian extraction.
Hansen was born in South Wales, the son of Carl Frederick Hansen, a shipowner of Scandinavian extraction.
He initially joined his father"s business, but later branched out on his own. His Cardiff Hall Steamship Lincolnshire became one of the largest operating out of the Bristol Channel ports and was especially successful during the First World War. He also revived the shipbuilding industry in the Devon town of Bideford after a lapse of fifty years, establishing the Hansen Shipbuilding and Ship-repairing Company Limited.
Foreign many years he was commemorated annually in the town.
Hansen was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1920 civilian war honours for his services to shipping and created a baronet in the 1921 New Year Honours for his services to Bideford.