Investing in new berths and a container yard at the fast growing Kollafjörður harbor, the Port of Tórshavn is further consolidating its position as the cargo hub in the Faroe Islands, while at the same time remaining the countrys most popular port of call for cruise tourism.
Changes in traffic patterns with major developments in the national road network have made Tórshavn the only Faroese port to receive container ships on a regular basis. Meanwhile, adding more business to the port, a noticeable growth in cruise tourism is reflected in the number and size of cruise ships heading Tórshavns way. According to harbor master Jónsvein Lamhauge, the capital of the Faroes was set to host a record 45 cruise liners throughout the summer of 2008.
Were receiving calls from a growing number of large cruise ships, which is good for business, Mr Lamhauge said. However container traffic has been rising even more sharply as a result of changes to the sailing schedule of one of the major operators.
That operator is Faroe Ship, a subsidiary of Eimskip. Since January 2008, after two new container vessels had replaced two old freighters, Faroe Ships sailing schedule was streamlined to use Tórshavn as the only port of call in the Faroes. That means service to and from the smaller communities is now handled by road transport instead.
On the political level, what started as the spectacular openings of two undersea tunnels, in 2002 and 2004, respectively bringing some 85 percent of the population within an hours drive of one another would in fact mark the end of the traditional coast-to-coast schedule that used to take goods to and from five domestic ports.
Samskip, another major container liner operator, will use the new Kollafjörður container yard. With the completion of this terminal expected later this year, the Port of Tórshavn will increase its total container storage capacity by approximately 20,000 square meters while adding 150m of quay with an alongside water depth of about as much as 12m. The terminal has been constructed at the end of the fjord, a few hundred yards from Samskips cold storage terminal, which was extended last year to offer a total 500m of deepwater quay.
Were seeing a lot of changes, Mr Lamhauge said. Vessel replacements, changes in time schedules, mergers and acquisitions You never know; theres always movement. For instance, when the old coasters were sold and new container ships took their place at the beginning of this year, a lot of traffic was funneled to Tórshavn.
He added: Everybody is looking to save valuable resources and I think its becoming clear that the more the islands are inter-connected, the more specialization well have as far as harbors are concerned. Good road connections enable operators of most sea vessels to save time, effort and fuel; they will probably prefer to have one harbor serving their particular needs and get all of their supplies and repairs in one place.
Other areas of business include ro-ro (roll-on/roll-off) ferry traffic and catering to the needs of a fleet of Eastern European merchant ships and large trawlers. Centered in the Tórshavn harbor, the ro-ro segment includes Smyril Lines superferry Norrönas regular calls throughout the year, extended by a chartered cargo ferry operated by Smyril Blue Water, plus the publicly operated domestic ferry services. As to the Eastern European vessels, this market has been growing lately with increasing docking activities.
Situated some 10 kilometers from Tórshavn, alongside the main road between Tórshavn and Vágar Airport, the Sund harbor is used for a number of activities, some of which are better suited to take place outside Tórshavn. The area is home to the countrys biggest power plant as well as an asphalt processing plant and has a combustion plant in the vicinity. With 215m of quay and good main road access, Sund is a popular service base for Eastern European ships. In addition to handling bulk cargo, the Sund harbor is frequently used by for a variety of purposes, including crew and cargo transfer and storage of fishing gear.
Slightly further north, about 23km from Tórshavn, the Kollafjörður harbor has developed into a major transport and logistics center. Seen as the geographical center of the Faroes, Kollafjörður is located at equally short distance about half an hours drivefrom Tórshavn, the Vágar Airport, and the industrial clusters of Eysturoy.
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