New vessel brings weekly sailings linking East Iceland, the Faroe Islands and mainland Europe

Samskip has added a new vessel to complement the M/S Skaftafell on its scheduled route linking Iceland, the Faroe Islands and mainland Europe

23.6.2004

Named the Akrafell, the new liner was built in Romania and Germany in 1997, and has a capacity of just over 5,100 tons. Carrying up to 435 container units, it has a top speed of 14 knots and is manned a crew of 13.

The introduction of the Akrafell has also led to major changes in scheduling on the route, which links Reykjavík, Reyðarfjörður and Klaksvík with the UK port of Immingham and Rotterdam. As of July 2, departures from Reykjavík will switch from Monday to midnight on Friday, with arrival in Reyðarfjörður on Sunday instead of Wednesday. Docking in Klaksvík will be on Monday instead of Thursday, with arrival at Immingham on Wednesday evenings instead of Saturdays and at Rotterdam on Thursday instead of Sunday evening. At the same time, the M/S Skaftafell will continue to call every two weeks at the west Iceland port of Grundartangi, where it will discharge and load cargo every second Thursday.

"The addition of a second vessel on the route marks a major improvement in the range of services we are able to offer importers and exporters in all the ports that it serves," says Samskip export department manager Hinrik Bjarnason. "By offering this service, Samskip is providing fish exporters in Iceland and the Faroe Islands with weekly links to South Humberside, one of Europe's largest food processing regions, and Rotterdam, the continent's largest container port".

"In doing so, we are furnishing Icelandic and Faroese producers of fresh and frozen fish with a raft of fresh opportunities for getting their products quickly and reliably to market, while also opening up new possibilities for importers of goods to both countries. In the case of Iceland, fish and other products will now arrive in Immingham every Thursday instead of on Sundays, adding to the already large quantities sent from the country by different routes at the beginning of each week," he adds. 

The entry into service of the Akrafell increases the frequency of Samskip sailings between Iceland, Immingham and Rotterdam to two per week, as the Arnarfell and Helgafell also visit these ports as part of their scheduled routes linking Iceland with Scandinavia and mainland Europe. A fifth vessel, M/S Jökulfell, operates on a route linking Iceland and mainland Europe with the Baltic, as well as serving on other projects as they arise. 

For further information, contact Samskip export department manager Hinrik Bjarnason, Tel +354 569 8386.