Faced with the prospect of dwindling fishmeal production, the Port of Fuglafjørður looks to diversify in future — with seafood processing returning to prominence and fuel bunkering poised to become a major economic activity.
Not long ago, when the Port of Fuglafjørður invested to build a new bunker terminal, a number of skeptical voices questioned the economic wisdom of such a commitment. Traditionally, bunker services in the Faroes Islands have not been associated with large-scale business aimed at the international maritime market. With a water depth of 14 meters alongside the terminal, the project seemed almost excessive as, practically speaking, no ship has a draft that requires anything near that depth — or so the argument went.
Fast forward to spring 2010. Less than two years after Fuglafjørður’s new bunker service opened the valves, dissenting voices have turned silent.
As an increasingly steady stream of large ships call at the port, economic reality has taken on a much-needed new dimension in the face of rougher financial times.
A tangible example of a worrying trend is seen in the falling frequency and tonnage of landings to the Havsbrún fishmeal factory, Fuglafjørður’s most important source of revenue since 1967. The port is still one of the world’s leading as far as concerns pelagic fisheries, with a wide range of essential services offered to vessels from a large number of countries — from production of fish meal and oil through cold storage of food fish to repairs and supplies of fishing gear, to name some.
A well sheltered natural harbor and the deepest port in the Faroes, Fuglafjørður’s throughput totaled some 100,000 metric tons in 2009, a very significant drop from two years earlier. However, according to the port authority, the Municipality of Fuglafjørður, the volume is expected to increase in 2010 as a result of an improved first quarter for fish meal and, likewise, because of a steady rise in fuel bunkering.
“Most of our port activities relate to the pelagic fishing industry and we expect this to remain so in the foreseeable future,” said the mayor, Sigurð S. Simonsen.
“However, indications are that the volumes of fish landed for reduction are generally decreasing in this part of the world. In regard to this trend, responsible thinking requires that proactive measures be taken to offset it. For this reason we are preparing to further develop harbor facilities and to support efforts that may help broaden the scope of existing business areas.”
Food fish: A key determinant of how developments are likely to be prioritized is the unexpected level of success experienced by the new bunker facility. While the old marine diesel and marine gas oil (MDO/MGO) bunker service had a capacity of 4,000 metric tons, the new facility has a total capacity of 20,000 mt., offering customers the full spectrum of heavy fuel oil, from IFO 30 to 380, and any blends.
“Bunker traffic took off almost immediately after the new facility opened,” Mr. Simonsen said. “The level of traffic has risen to a surprising degree, and we have noted that large ships are calling more and more frequently. We’re also receiving queries from very large vessels with a draft exceeding 14 meters, which is being taken into account in our current development plan where the bunker terminal will be extended further to have water depths of 28 m. alongside. With that in place, even the world’s largest supertankers will be able to call at the Port of Fuglafjørður.”
While the Fuel Quay thus will be extended by 80 to 90 m., the neighboring Cold Quay will likewise be extended by 75 m. to cover part of the area between the cold store Bergfrost and Havsbrún. Within this area, the municipality has decided to invite foreign and domestic investors to set up a new processing facility for pelagic food fish. A prospectus was about to be produced as this publication went to press, targeting investors in the Netherlands and elsewhere, with the idea of attracting both foreign and local participation.
“I believe it could mean a great deal for the future of this community to be able to generate higher value from catches. A processing plant for pelagic food fish would be a natural step for the industrial environment here, and would make Fuglafjørður a more comprehensive center for the pelagic fishing industry.”
In a separate development, seafood processing was set to resume in the spring of 2010 after the formation of a joint venture between Faroe Seafood, Faroe Farming, and Havsbrún, focusing on portions of farmed salmon.
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