MS Smyril

Last updated
New smyril 22-10-2005 (4).jpg
Smyril
History
Name2005 onwards: Smyril
Owner2005 onwards: Strandfaraskip Landsins
Operator2005 onwards: Strandfaraskip Landsins
Port of registry2005 onwards: Tvøroyri, Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg  Faroe Islands
Builder IZAR
Yard number399
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics [2]
Tonnage12,650  GT
Length138 m (452 ft 9 in)
Beam22.7 m (74 ft 6 in)
Draught5.60 m (18 ft 4 in)
Installed power4 × MAN B&W 7L 32/40 diesel engines
Propulsion
Speed21 knots
Capacity
  • 976 passengers
  • 200 cars

The Smyril is a passenger and car ferry owned and operated by the Faroese transport company Strandfaraskip Landsins. She is the largest ferry in the fleet and the fifth vessel to carry the name Smyril, which is the Faroese word for merlin. The ferry takes 200 cars and 975 passengers.

Contents

The ferry services Suðuroy with 2-3 daily trips from Tórshavn to Krambatangi. The trip takes 2 hours and 5 minutes. [3] Strandfaraskip Landsins meets all arrivals and departures with buses to Vágur, Tvøroyri and Hvalba, while dial-a-ride services link the ferry to/from other villages, including Fámjin.

History

The current Smyril was built at the IZAR shipyard in San Fernando, Spain. She entered service on the 15 October 2005.

Previous vessels

Since the 1890s the Strandfaraskip Landsins have operated five different ships named Smyril.

Smyril (I)

Smyril I was built in the 1890s and began as a smaller transport boat in Tvøroyri in the Faroe islands.

Smyril (II)

Smyril II was built in Frederikshavn in Denmark in 1931, arriving in the Faroe Islands in 1932. It was much more modern than the first Smyril, it had a large saloon with sofas, and it even had a small saloon for smokers. The ferry was welcomed with song and music on the harbour of Tórshavn. Two days after arrival, the ferry started to sail on route between the islands. It sailed from Tórshavn, the capital, to many villages, i.e. to the villages on the eastern side of Eysturoy, to the villages on the eastern side of Sandoy and to several of the villages on the eastern side of Suðuroy, to the village Vestmanna, which is on the west coast of Streymoy and to Vágar island and sometimes also to smaller island like Mykines and Nólsoy. Smyril II also sailed to Klaksvík. Smyril I left the Faroe Islands on the same day as the new ferry started on her route, after sailing between the islands in 35 years.

Smyril (III)

Smyril III was built in Tórshavn, at the shipyard Tórshavnar Skipasmiðja, in 1967. It was a modern fast-moving and seaworthy vessel. With the new Smyril the sailing time between Torshavn and Tvøroyri was reduced from four to three hours. Smyril III could accommodate 300 passengers, but with the changes that were made in the infrastructure in the Faroes in the 1970s, the need for a larger vessel, a real car-ferry, grew to cover the community’s requirements.

Smyril (IV)

Smyril IV was built in 1969 as MV Morten Mols for the Danish shipping company Mols-Linien and bought by Strandfaraskip Landsins in 1975. [4] It began to show signs of wear against the strong Faroese elements in the mid 1990s and by 2003 it was facing extreme difficulties in sailing through the strong currents of the islands. It was eventually replaced and taken out of operation in October 2005 with Smyril V.

New harbour

The new harbour at Krambatangi under construction in 2003. Harbour for the new Smyril.JPG
The new harbour at Krambatangi under construction in 2003.

A new harbour was built to accommodate the fifth Smyril in 2004. [5] It is called Krambatangi and is situated on the southern side of the Trongisvágsfjørður, opposite Tvøroyri. More precisely, it is located between the villages of Trongisvágur and Øravík, in a hamlet named Øravíkarlíð. The old dock was called Drelnes is situated further inland and remains in use as an industrial and cultural area.

The new ferry terminal also served to centralise traffic from Suðuroy to the rest of the country. Until 2005, the Suðuroy ferry had scheduled departures to Tórshavn from alternatingly Tvøroyri (Drelnes) and Vágur, but the larger ferry, modern terminal and the opening of the Hovstunnilin in 2007 enabled the closure of the branch to Vágur. In earlier days, Smyril ferries would occasionally call at Skálavík, Sandoy.

See also

Smyril Line, the ferry service between Denmark, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, which operates the vessel MS Norröna.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport in the Faroe Islands</span> Internal transport system of the Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands is served by an internal transport system based on roads, ferries, and helicopters. As of the 1970s, the majority of the population centres of the Faroe Islands have been joined to a single road network, connected by bridges and tunnels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fámjin</span> Municipality and village in Faroe Islands, Kingdom of Denmark

Fámjin is a village located on the western side of Suðuroy, the southernmost island in Faroe Islands. Fámjin is looking directly out to the North Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Froðba</span> Village in Faroe Islands, Kingdom of Denmark

Froðba is a village located farthest out on the north brink of Trongisvágsfjørður, an inlet on the east coast of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tvøroyri</span> Village in Faroe Islands, Kingdom of Denmark

Tvøroyri is a village on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy island in the Faroe Islands. Together with Froðba, Trongisvágur, Líðin and Øravík it forms Tvøroyri Municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suðuroy</span> Island in Faroe Islands, Kingdom of Denmark

Suðuroy is the southernmost of the Faroe Islands. The island covers 163.7 square kilometres (63.2 sq mi). In 2018 the population was 4,601. Suðuroy region (sýsla) comprises this island and Lítla Dímun, the next isle northward in the Faroes, which is uninhabited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streymoy</span> Island in Faroe Islands, Kingdom of Denmark

Streymoy is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The capital, Tórshavn, is located on its southeast coast. The name means "island of currents". It also refers to the largest region of the country that also includes the islands of Hestur, Koltur and Nólsoy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sloop period</span> Period in Faroese history

The Sloop Period Faroese: Slupptíðin is a period in Faroese history, where the Faroese society transformed from a feudal society to a semi-industrial society. The period spans from the 1880s to the beginning of World War II.

MS <i>Regina Baltica</i> 1980 ferry

MS Regina Baltica is a cruiseferry owned by the Spanish shipping company Balearia. She was built in 1980 as Viking Song by Wärtsilä Perno shipyard, Finland for Rederi Ab Sally, one of the owners of the Viking Line consortium. She has also sailed under the names Braemar and Anna Karenina.

Posta is the postal service of the Faroe Islands and was founded on 1 April 1976 under the Home Rule of the Faroe Islands. On 16 December 2005, it became a public joint stock company under the name P/F Postverk Føroya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strandfaraskip Landsins</span> Government agency for public transport in the Faroe Islands

Strandfaraskip Landsins is the government agency for public transport in the Faroe Islands. It is owned by the Faroese national government under the Ministry of Finance (Fíggjamálaráðið) and runs eight ferry routes and a number of bus routes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trongisvágsfjørður</span> Fjord on the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands

Trongisvágsfjørður is a fjord on the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. There are four villages around the fjord. Furthest east on the northern side of the fjord is Froðba, in the bottom of the fjord is Trongisvágur. In between Trongisvágur and Froðba is Tvøroyri, the largest of these villages. South of Trongisvágur in a bay is Øravík, a part of Øravík is called Øravíkarlíð, it is located close to Trongisvágur and not visible from Øravík. These villages are in the Municipality of Tvøroyri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smyril Line</span> Faroese shipping company

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aggi Ásgerð Ásgeirsdóttir</span> Faroese artist

Aggi Ásgerð Ásgeirsdóttir is a Faroese artist. She was born in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands. She was educated in Denmark and then moved back to the Faroe Islands, to the small village Vágur in Suðuroy, which is the southernmost island. In the summer 2009 Aggi move to Tórshavn or to Argir, now part of the municipality of Tórshavn. While Aggi was living in Suðuroy, her art was her main occupation, and also mentored Ruth Smith Art Museum in Vágur, she was the chairman of the association "Skálin við Skálá", which owns the museum. Aggi often showed the museum for tourists while she was living in Vágur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vágsfjørður</span> Fjord on the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands

Vágsfjørður is a fjord on the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The fjord is located in the southern part and on the eastern side of the island. The distance between the east and the west coast of Suðuroy is very short from Vágsfjørður to Vágseiði. Between the fjord and Vágseiði is a lake which is called Vatnið. There are five villages around the fjord. In the bottom of the fjord is Vágur, which is one of the largest of the villages in Suðuroy. Further east on the northern side of the fjord is Porkeri, in between Vágur and Porkeri is the small village Nes, where a famous artist Ruth Smith lived. She drowned while swimming in Vágsfjørður at the age of 45.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krambatangi</span> Ferry port of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands

Krambatangi is the ferry port of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The ferry MS Smyril M/F disembarks 2–3 times daily from Krambatangi to Tórshavn. Krambatangi is located on the southern side of Trongisvágsfjørður halfway between Trongisvágur and Øravík, opposite Tvøroyri. The ferry port was earlier on Drelnes, which is a few hundred metres further east of Krambatangi. But in 2005 a new ferry arrived, which was much bigger than the prior one, and therefore required a new ferryport at Krambatangi. Krambatangi does not belong to the municipality of Tvøroyri, and there have been some disagreements between the Tvøroyri municipality and Strandfaraskip Landsins (SSL) because they didn't pay harbour dues for entering the port of Tvøroyri. The Faroese court decided that SSL ought to pay for entering the port of Tvøroyri, but SSL appealed the verdict.

<i>Westerbeek</i>

Westerbeek was a Dutch East India Company sailing ship, built in 1722 in Amsterdam. It was 145 feet (44 m) long and 650 tons.

The Suðuroyartunnilin is a proposed submerged fixed-link in the Faroe Islands, linking the island of Suðuroy to Sandoy. As of 2023, all vehicles and cargo, and virtually all passenger traffic must use the ferry service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skopunarfjørður</span> Strait separating Sandoy and Streymoy in the Faroe Islands

Skopunarfjørður is a strait separating Sandoy and Streymoy in the Faroe Islands. The strait also passes the isle of Hestur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fjords in the Faroe Islands</span> List of fjords in the Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands consist of 18 islands, several of which are deeply incised by fjords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamlarætt</span> Ferry port in the Faroe Islands

Gamlarætt is a ferry port in the Faroe Islands. It is situated on the southwestern side of the island of Streymoy, the largest island in the Faroes, between the villages of Velbastaður and Kirkjubøur. It accommodates ferry services to the islands of Sandoy and Hestur. The port is also used for local salmon farms.

References

  1. "Particulars of ship stations - Smyril". International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  2. Faktaomfartyg.se. "Faktaomfartyg.se - Smyril (2005)" . Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  3. "Strandfaraskip Landsins route 7".
  4. "M/S Morten Mols". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  5. 1 Faini 2 Jacobsen, 1 Firouz 2 Heini (2008). Mynstur Broytast. Tórshavn: Landsverk. pp. 191–199.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)