Faroe Business Report — The International Review of Faroe Islands Industry and Trade - Faroe Business Report — The International Review of Faroe Islands Industry and Trade

Backed by international attention and favorable publicity won for the Faroe Islands — will a renewed focus on environmentally friendly solutions for the maritime industry help Faroese companies gain leverage in the marketplace?

W   ith competitiveness in the global economy taking prominence as an overriding theme throughout the last few years, there’s virtually no end to what companies innovate, adapt to, learn to live with, and thrive on. Among the major subheadings of this theme: environmental awareness, smart technology, responsible management. Now couple one or two of the buzzwords with something that relates to the sea or the maritime industry, add some prospects of profitability, and you’ll see the Faroese all fired up with enthusiasm.

It may be argued that sometimes people can’t see the wood for the trees. In this respect, assuming a more active role in the business of international shipping has been highlighted extensively in the Faroe Islands. The fact that new developments are taking place in this field is seen as not only natural in a country wedded to the sea, but vital for its economy.

“This year marks the 200-year anniversary for the death of Nólsoyar Páll,” said Prime Minister Jóannes Eidesgaard during a conference on shipping organized by Föroya Banki earlier this year. Nólsoyar Páll, or Paul of Nólsoy, the national hero that the Prime Minister referred to, was a sailor and a merchant who upheld the rights of his countrymen during the oppressive Trade Monopoly.

“As many of us know,” the Prime Minister said, “Nólsoyar Páll together with others built the Royndin Fríða in Vágur in 1804, and this was the first ship built in the Faroe Islands and owned by Faroese people since the Middle Ages.”

Somehow the Royndin Fríða (‘Fair Effort’) says something about Faroese entrepreneurship that resonates in our time.

Mr Eidesgaard added: “Nólsoyar Páll was above all a man of vision who fought to establish free trade in the Faroe Islands. With the Royndin Fríða he sought to create business opportunities and economic progress in the Faroese community.”

Two centuries on, after unnumbered changes have affected the lives of generations, many principles known from the past nonetheless stay the same. But since former US President Bill Clinton, together with former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, made his appearance in Tórshavn last summer, things seemed to take a new turn, as in “All of sudden big-time events are perfectly doable here!”

While few may know today how profound this change may prove in the future, the organizers of the event, the Faroese Employers’ Association, obviously inspired others to follow suit and keep the ball rolling. A few months later, an international conference featuring Nobel Peace Prize winner and former US Vice President Al Gore was announced by organizers House of Industry, Bitland, SamVit, and NORA. The TransAtlantic Climate Conference 2008, held on 7th and 8th April in Tórshavn — just as this publication went to press — focused on climate change, particularly as related to the ocean, energy and environmental issues.

With the level of interest generated, the conference looked poised for huge success. The build-up to the event highlighted some of the participating businesspeople — who represent a new generation of companies offering solutions for saving fuel, reducing emissions and securing sustainability. Surely, this way even more good reasons are presented for doing business with the Faroese.

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