Smyril
Encyclopedia
The Smyril is a passenger / car ferry
owned and operated by the Faroese
transport company Strandfaraskip Landsins
. She is the largest ferry
in the fleet and the 5th vessel to carry the name Smyril, which is the Faroese word for Merlin
.
The ferry Smyril M/F has 2-3 daily departures from the ferry port Krambatangi
, Suðuroy
ferry port, which is located on the opposite side of the inlet. The trip from Tórshavn
to Tvøroyri
takes 2 hours. The ferry takes 200 cars and 975 persons. It is possible to go by bus from the harbour of Krambatangi
to all other villages on the island. There are currently two public bus-lines, number 700 goes to the southern part of the island with the end station in Sumba
and line 701 which goes to the villages in the northern part of the island. The end stations are in Sandvík
(the northernmost villaeg) and in Fámjin
, which is on the west coast of Suduroy.
shipyard in San Fernando, Spain
. She entered service on the 15 October 2005.
have operated five different ships named Smyril.
in the Faroe islands
.
in Denmark
in 1931, arriving in the Faroe Islands in 1932. It was much more modern than the first Smyril, it had a large saloon with sofas, and it even had a small saloon for smokers. The ferry was welcomed with song and music on the harbour of Tórshavn
. Two days after arrival, the ferry started to sail on route between the islands. It sailed from Tórshavn, the capital, to many villages, i.e. to the villages on the eastern side of Eysturoy
, to the villages on the eastern side of Sandoy
and to several of the villages on the eastern side of Suðuroy
, to the village Vestmanna
, which is on the west coast of Streymoy
and to Vágar
island and sometimes also to smaller island like Mykines
and Nólsoy
. Smyril II also sailed to Klaksvík
. Smyril I left the Faroe Islands
on the same day as the new ferry started on her route, after sailing between the islands in 35 years.
and bought by Strandfaraskip Landsins in 1975. It began to show signs of wear against the strong Faroese elements in the mid 1990s and by 2003 it was facing extreme difficulties in sailing through the strong currents of the islands. It was eventually replaced and taken out of operation in October 2005 with Smyril V.
A new harbour was built to accommodate the newer larger version of the Smyril in 2004. The new harbour is called Krambatangi
. The former harbour was a few hundred metres further east, on the same side of the fjord of Tvøroyri, the southern side. The old harbour was called Drelnes. The new harbour Krambatangi
is located between the villages Trongisvágur
and Øravík
, it is in Øravíkarlíð, not far from Trongisvágur
. The villages around the fjord Trongisvágsfjørður are Øravík
, Trongisvágur
, Tvøroyri
and Froðba
. Tvøroyri
, which is one of the largest village on Suðuroy is just on the opposite side of the fjord.
RORO
Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels...
owned and operated by the Faroese
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
transport company Strandfaraskip Landsins
Strandfaraskip Landsins
Strandfaraskip Landsins is the public transport company of the Faroe Islands. It is owned by the Faroese government and runs ferries and buses ....
. She is the largest ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
in the fleet and the 5th vessel to carry the name Smyril, which is the Faroese word for Merlin
Merlin (bird)
The Merlin is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere. A bird of prey once known colloquially as a pigeon hawk in North America, the Merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter.-European and North American...
.
The ferry Smyril M/F has 2-3 daily departures from the ferry port Krambatangi
Krambatangi
Krambatangi is the ferry port of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The ferry Smyril M/F disembarks 2-3 times daily from Krambatangi to Tórshavn. Krambatangi is located on the southern side of Trongisvágsfjørður halfway between Trongisvágur and Øravík, opposite of Tvøroyri. The ferry port was earlier on...
, Suðuroy
Suðuroy
Suðuroy is the southernmost of the Faroe Islands. The island covers 163.7 km². In 2010 there were 4763 inhabitants, but there has been a gradual decline in the population numbers ever since the 1950s....
ferry port, which is located on the opposite side of the inlet. The trip from Tórshavn
Tórshavn
Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...
to Tvøroyri
Tvøroyri
Tvøroyri lies picturesquely on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy, Faroe Islands....
takes 2 hours. The ferry takes 200 cars and 975 persons. It is possible to go by bus from the harbour of Krambatangi
Krambatangi
Krambatangi is the ferry port of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The ferry Smyril M/F disembarks 2-3 times daily from Krambatangi to Tórshavn. Krambatangi is located on the southern side of Trongisvágsfjørður halfway between Trongisvágur and Øravík, opposite of Tvøroyri. The ferry port was earlier on...
to all other villages on the island. There are currently two public bus-lines, number 700 goes to the southern part of the island with the end station in Sumba
Sumba, Faroe Islands
Sumba is the southernmost place of the Faroe Islands on the island of Suðuroy. It is located in the Sumbiar municipality.The municipality has 385 inhabitants. 258 of these people are living in Sumba. The other villages in the Municipality of Sumba are: Lopra , Akrar , Víkarbyrgi .Sumba is known for...
and line 701 which goes to the villages in the northern part of the island. The end stations are in Sandvík
Sandvík
Sandvík is the northernmost village of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. It is situated on the northern side of a shallow fjord. The small village was earlier known as Hvalvík until 1913...
(the northernmost villaeg) and in Fámjin
Fámjin
Fámjin is a village, located in the middle of the coastline on the western side of Suðuroy, the southernmost island in Faroe Islands. It has a population of around 100....
, which is on the west coast of Suduroy.
History
The current Smyril was built at the IZARNavantia
Navantia, formerly Bazán or IZAR, is a Spanish shipbuilding firm, which offers its services to both military and civil sector. It is the fifth largest shipbuilder in Europe, and the ninth largest in the world with shipyards all over Spain....
shipyard in San Fernando, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. She entered service on the 15 October 2005.
Previous vessels
Since the 1890s the Strandfaraskip LandsinsStrandfaraskip Landsins
Strandfaraskip Landsins is the public transport company of the Faroe Islands. It is owned by the Faroese government and runs ferries and buses ....
have operated five different ships named Smyril.
Smyril (I)
Smyril I was built in the 1890s and began as a smaller transport boat in TvøroyriTvøroyri
Tvøroyri lies picturesquely on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy, Faroe Islands....
in the Faroe islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
.
Smyril (II)
Smyril II was built in FrederikshavnFrederikshavn
This article is about a Danish town. For the German town, see Friedrichshafen, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Frederikshavn is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to...
in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in 1931, arriving in the Faroe Islands in 1932. It was much more modern than the first Smyril, it had a large saloon with sofas, and it even had a small saloon for smokers. The ferry was welcomed with song and music on the harbour of Tórshavn
Tórshavn
Tórshavn is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the north west of the town lies the high mountain Húsareyn, and to the southwest, the high Kirkjubøreyn...
. Two days after arrival, the ferry started to sail on route between the islands. It sailed from Tórshavn, the capital, to many villages, i.e. to the villages on the eastern side of Eysturoy
Eysturoy
Eysturoy means East island and is the second-largest of the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, both in size and population. It is separated by a narrow sound from the main island of Streymoy. Eysturoy is extremely rugged, with some 66 separate mountain peaks, including Slættaratindur, the...
, to the villages on the eastern side of Sandoy
Sandoy
Sandoy is a small island that is part of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. The largest population center on the island is the village of Sandur with a population of six hundred....
and to several of the villages on the eastern side of Suðuroy
Suðuroy
Suðuroy is the southernmost of the Faroe Islands. The island covers 163.7 km². In 2010 there were 4763 inhabitants, but there has been a gradual decline in the population numbers ever since the 1950s....
, to the village Vestmanna
Vestmanna
Vestmanna is a town in the Faroe Islands on the west of the island of Streymoy. It was formerly a ferry port, until an undersea tunnel was built from Vágar to Kvívík and Stykkið. The cliffs west of Vestmanna, Vestmannabjørgini are very popular for excursions by boat.A 'Vestmann' was a "Westman",...
, which is on the west coast of Streymoy
Streymoy
Streymoy is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The capital, Tórshavn is located there. The name means "island of currents".- Geography :...
and to Vágar
Vágar
Vágar is one of the 18 islands in the archipelago of the Faroe Islands and the most westerly of the large islands. With a size of 178 km² , it ranks number three, behind Streymoy and Eysturoy....
island and sometimes also to smaller island like Mykines
Mykines
Mykines is the western-most of the main 18 islands in the Faroe Islands. See also the only settlement on the island, Mykines.Only 11 people live in village Mykines all year around. The oldest inhabitant is 75 and the youngest is 6 years old....
and Nólsoy
Nólsoy
Nólsoy is an island and village in central Faroe Islands, located to the east of the capital Tórshavn in Streymoy. There is only one settlement on the island: Nólsoy on the north-west coast on Stongin, a peninsula attached to the rest of the island by a metres-wide isthmus...
. Smyril II also sailed to Klaksvík
Klaksvík
Klaksvík is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands.The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands ....
. Smyril I left the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
on the same day as the new ferry started on her route, after sailing between the islands in 35 years.
Smyril (III)
Smyril III was built in Tórshavn, at the shipyard Tórshavnar Skipasmiðja, in 1967. It was a modern fast-moving and seaworthy vessel. With the new Smyril the sailing time between Torshavn and Tvøroyri was reduced from four to three hours. Smyril III could accommodate 300 passengers, but with the changes that were made in the infrastructure in the Faroes in the 1970s, the need for a larger vessel, a real car-ferry, grew to cover the community’s requirements.Smyril (IV)
Smyril IV was built in 1969 as MV Morten Mols for the Danish shipping company Mols-LinienMols-linien
Mols-Linien is a Danish company that operates ferry services between the Jutland and the island of Zealand.-History:Mols-Linien was formed by DFDS in 1964 sailings commenced on the 18th May 1966....
and bought by Strandfaraskip Landsins in 1975. It began to show signs of wear against the strong Faroese elements in the mid 1990s and by 2003 it was facing extreme difficulties in sailing through the strong currents of the islands. It was eventually replaced and taken out of operation in October 2005 with Smyril V.
New Harbour
Krambatangi
Krambatangi is the ferry port of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The ferry Smyril M/F disembarks 2-3 times daily from Krambatangi to Tórshavn. Krambatangi is located on the southern side of Trongisvágsfjørður halfway between Trongisvágur and Øravík, opposite of Tvøroyri. The ferry port was earlier on...
. The former harbour was a few hundred metres further east, on the same side of the fjord of Tvøroyri, the southern side. The old harbour was called Drelnes. The new harbour Krambatangi
Krambatangi
Krambatangi is the ferry port of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The ferry Smyril M/F disembarks 2-3 times daily from Krambatangi to Tórshavn. Krambatangi is located on the southern side of Trongisvágsfjørður halfway between Trongisvágur and Øravík, opposite of Tvøroyri. The ferry port was earlier on...
is located between the villages Trongisvágur
Trongisvágur
Trongisvágur is a village on the island of Suduroy in the Faroe Islands.*Population: 415*Postal code : FO 826*Location: *Municipality: Tvoroyrar...
and Øravík
Øravík
Øravík is a village on the east coast of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The village is located in the center of the island on a crossroad where the road to Fámjin goes towards west over the mountains to the west coast. One part of the village is located in the bay of Øravík, the other...
, it is in Øravíkarlíð, not far from Trongisvágur
Trongisvágur
Trongisvágur is a village on the island of Suduroy in the Faroe Islands.*Population: 415*Postal code : FO 826*Location: *Municipality: Tvoroyrar...
. The villages around the fjord Trongisvágsfjørður are Øravík
Øravík
Øravík is a village on the east coast of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The village is located in the center of the island on a crossroad where the road to Fámjin goes towards west over the mountains to the west coast. One part of the village is located in the bay of Øravík, the other...
, Trongisvágur
Trongisvágur
Trongisvágur is a village on the island of Suduroy in the Faroe Islands.*Population: 415*Postal code : FO 826*Location: *Municipality: Tvoroyrar...
, Tvøroyri
Tvøroyri
Tvøroyri lies picturesquely on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy, Faroe Islands....
and Froðba
Froðba
Froðba is a village located farthest out on the north brink of Trongisvágsfjørður, an inlet on the east coast of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The village has eventually merged with the harbour-city of Tvøroyri....
. Tvøroyri
Tvøroyri
Tvøroyri lies picturesquely on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy, Faroe Islands....
, which is one of the largest village on Suðuroy is just on the opposite side of the fjord.