Strandfaraskip Landsins

Strandfaraskip Landsins
Headquarters Tvøroyri, Faroe Islands
Area served
 North Atlantic
Services Passenger transportation
Freight transportation
Owner Faroese Government
Website www.ssl.fo
Strandfaraskip Landsins routes
MS Smyril - the company's largest ship
Teistin on route between Streymoy Sandoy and Hestur islands

Strandfaraskip Landsins is the public transport company of the Faroe Islands. It is owned by the Faroese government and runs ferries (Oyggjaleiðir - Island links) and buses (Bygdaleiðir - Village links, with blue-painted buses). Until February 2008 the administration of Strandfaraskip Landsins was located in Tórshavn, but in 2007 Jacob Vestergaard, who was minister at that time decided to move the administration to the island Suðuroy (the southernmost island) in order to get more public jobs there and also because the largest ferry of the company is Smyril M/F which is on daily route between Tórshavn and Krambatangi on Suðuroy.

The Ferries

M/F Smyril - the ferry to Suðuroy

The ferry Smyril takes up to 975 passengers and up to 200 cars, it was built in Spain in 2005.[1] The trip with Smyril takes two hours. Smyril disembarks from Krambatangi ferry port near Tvøroyri in Suðuroy every morning except for Saturday morning when it starts from Tórshavn. Monday morning Smyril's first trip starts at 6 in the morning, so that people can be in time for work, if they spend the weekend in Suðuroy and start work or school in Tórshavn at 8 or 9. In 2007 the number of daily departures were increased so that there were now 3 daily departures from Suðuroy (and three from Tórshavn) on Mondays and Wednesdays, and one extra departure from Suðuroy on Friday evening.[2] Because the trip takes two hours and the ferry is so large, it is very expensive to run, the extra departure on Wednesday has been taken away in wintertime, so that Smyril now only has two daily departures from Suðuroy at 7 in the morning and on 15:30, and 2 departures from Tórshavn at 13:00 and at 18:30, almost every day has only two daily departures in wintertime, Monday is the exception, it still has three departures from Suðuroy daily and three departures from Tórshavn, the schedule on Monday has been like this since 2007: From Krambatangi, Suðuroy at 6:00, from Tórshavn at 8:30, from Suðuroy at 11:00, from Tórshavn at 16:00, from Suðuroy at 18:30 and the last departure from Tórshavn is at 21:00 (it may have changed since this was written, please check on the ssl.fo website). The people who live in Suðuroy wish that they had more departures like the Sandoy and Kalsoy, but the politicians say that it is not possible. There have been three daily departures every Wednesday, which was very good for tourism, because tourists (both foreign tourists and Faroese tourists from other islands) could make a one-day trip to Suðuroy by leaving Tórshavn at 8:30 in the morning, arriving in Suðuroy at 10:30 and spend a day in Suðuroy and take the ferry back to Tórshavn at 18:30. This is still possible on Mondays, but Wednesday which was a very popular day for one-day island hoppers is not an option for 2013, the trip will not come back they say. The trip was taken off the schedule from 1 September 2012 for the winter period in order to save some money,[3] but it may not come back again when the summer period starts 1 April 2013. Many politicians who were not in the political parties of the coalition, and especially politicians from Suðuroy and Sandoy were strongly against that Smyril and Teistin would have to cut down their budget and therefor also cut down one or more weekly departures.[4]

M/F Teistin - the ferry to Sandoy

Next after Smyril the ferry to Skopun on Sandoy island is the second largest, it is called Teistin and takes up to 288 passengers and up to 33 cars. M/F Teistin was built on Skála Skipasmiðja in the Faroe Islands in 2001.[5]

M/F Ritan - earlier the ferry to Nólsoy - since 2010 the ferry to Svínoy and Fugloy

For many years the ferry Másin was on route from the village Hvannasund on Viðoy (Northern Islands) to the two smaller islands Svínoy and Fugloy. But it is not in use anymore. In stead the ferry Ritan, which earlier used to be on the route between Tórshavn and Nólsoy is now on route between Hvannasund, Svínoy and Fugloy.

M/F Ternan - earlier the ferry to Vágar, later to Sandoy and now to Nólsoy

Ternan M/F in Tórshavn

The Nólsoy ferry is now M/F Ternan, which earlier was on route to Skopun on Sandoy, and before the subsea tunnel to Vágar was built it was on route to Vágar together with M/F Sam. The ferry to the island Sandoy also goes to the small island Hestur, but only on request. (The Faroese word Tilkalling means by request)[6] Teistin departs from Gamlarætt, which is not so far from Tórshavn, it takes only 15 minutes by car. Gamlarætt is near the villages Kirkjubøur and Velbastaður on the south west coast of Streymoy island. Teistin has a frequent schedule, it goes up to 9 times daily each way (9 times from Skopun and 9 times from Gamlarætt).

Earlier sea routes replaced by subsea tunnels

Earlier there were ferries between Vestmanna on Streymoy and the island Vágar, where the airport is, and there was a ferry connection from Leirvík on Eysturoy island to Klaksvík on Borðoy in the Norther Islands, but after the undersea tunnels between these areas came, there was no longer any need to have ferries in these areas. Norðoyatunnilin now connects Eysturoy with Klaksvík and Vágatunnilin connects Streymoy with Vágar.

Fleet

Busses - Bygdaleiðir

One of the busses of Bygdaleiðir

Directors

The list is not complete

See also

References

  1. ↑ SSL.fo M/F Smyril
  2. ↑ Aktuelt.fo Smyril fer nú at sigla fleiri túrar
  3. ↑ Aktuelt.fo Suðuroyingar og kalsoyingar missa ein túr (in Faroese)
  4. ↑ Aktuelt.fo Tinglimir í øðini inn á skerjingar (in Faroese)
  5. ↑ ssl.fo, M/F Teistin
  6. ↑ ssl.fo, the time schedule of Teistin M/F
  7. ↑ in.fo, Strandferðslan fingið nýggjan stjóra
  8. ↑ in.fo, Johan Dahl vísir øllum skuldsetingum aftur
  9. ↑ ssl.fo, Regin nýggjur stjóri á Strandfaraskipum Landsins
  10. ↑ ssl.fo, Nýggjur stjóri á Strandfaraskipum Landsins
  11. ↑ samband.fo, Reidar Nónfjall
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