| Type | A/S (Aktieselskab) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1983 |
| Headquarters | Tórshavn, Faroe Islands |
| Area served | North Sea North Atlantic Norwegian Sea |
| Services | Passenger transportation Freight transportation |
| Operating income | DKK 5.513 million (2009) [1] |
| Net income | DKK 407.000 (2009) [2] |
| Total assets | DKK 483.000 (2009) [3] |
| Total equity | DKK 122 million (2011) [4] |
| Website | www.smyrilline.com |
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.
Since 1983 the company has operated a regular international passenger, car and freight service using a large, modern, multi-purpose ferry named MV Norröna. The original vessel was a Swedish-built ferry formerly named Gustav Vasa (built in 1973). This was replaced by the Norröna, built in Lübeck, Germany in 2003. The large purchase price, some €100 million, gave the operator 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 (Faroese Development Trust) 33,6%, the Faroese Government 23,6%, TF Holding 20,7% and the Shetlands Development trust 6,8%, the remaining shares are owned by several minor stakeholders.[5]
Contents |
- The weekly service serves the following ports:
The crossing between Hirshals and Tórshavn takes 38 hours in winter and 30 hours during the summer schedule. The onwards journey to Seyðisfjörður takes another 15 hours excluding a layover in Tórshavn [6] and only sails during the summer schedule. 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.[7] On 1 September Smyril Line announced that it would end services to Hanstholm (summer) and Esbjerg (winter) in Denmark and move all its Danish ferry operations to Hirtshals.