Smyril Line


Smyril Line is a Faroese shipping company, linking the Faroe Islands with Denmark and Iceland; previously, it also served Norway and the United Kingdom. Smyril is the Faroese word for the merlin.

History

Since 1983, the company has operated a regular international passenger, car and freight service using a multi-purpose ferry, MS Norröna. The original vessel was a Swedish-built ferry formerly named Gustav Vasa. This was replaced by the Norröna, built in Lübeck, Germany in 2003. The purchase price of €100 million caused the company financial difficulties, and Smyril line eventually had to receive public support from the Faroese Government to stay afloat.
Today the holding company is owned by Framtaksgrunnur Føroya 33.6%, the Faroese Government 23.6%, TF Holding 20.7% and the Shetland Development Trust 6.8%, the remaining shares are owned by several minor stakeholders.

Operations

The weekly service serves Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands, Seyðisfjörður in Iceland, and Hirtshals in Denmark. The crossing between Hirtshals and Tórshavn takes 38 hours in winter and 30 hours during the summer schedule. The onwards journey to Seyðisfjörður takes another 15 hours. Until the end of the summer 2007 timetable, Smyril Line also served Lerwick in the Shetland Islands. On 11 November 2008 Smyril Line announced that it would end services to Scrabster, Scotland and Bergen, Norway. On 1 September Smyril Line announced that it would end services to Hanstholm and Esbjerg in Denmark and move all its Danish ferry operations to Hirtshals.

Cargo

Smyril Line Cargo operates a fleet of four vessels: Eystnes, Hvítanes, Akranes and Mykines. Cargo is also shipped on the Norröna. Eystnes and Hvítanes connect Tórshavn, Hirsthals, and St. Petersburg.
The MV Mykines is the newest ship of the fleet, added in April 2017. Built at the Norwegian UMOE Sterkoder shipyard in 1996, it was previously operated as Auto Baltic for Bore shipping company in Finland. It measures 138.5 metres in length and 22.6 metres in width. As a RoRo ship it also takes unaccompanied cars as freight, providing an alternative to the Norröna. It sails from Rotterdam via Tórshavn to Þorlákshöfn in Iceland.