Shipping Company Varðin – Trap The Faroe Islands

© Styrelsen for Dataforsyning og Infrastruktur

The trawler Tróndur í Gøtu at the quay in front of the factory Varðin Pelagic in Tvøroyri. EILEEN SANDÁ/CREATIVE COMMONS, WIKIMEDIA, 2012

In 1985, the Faroese Government launched its so-called ship package, the purpose of which was to build Faroese ships for hake fishing in Faroese waters. In January 1987, Jákup Jacobsen and Tummas Thomsen’s shipping company was able to take its first ship, Tróndur í Gøtu, into Gøta.

When the economic crisis hit the Faroe Islands in 1990, it also affected the shipping company, and in order to save the ship, the crew decided to lower their own wages slightly and inject new capital into the shipping company. Therefore, Tróndur í Gøtu survived as one of only two ships; the ship package had included 16 ships.

Through the 1990s, blue whiting fishery was successful, and it was also possible to fish for herring and mackerel. This placed the shipping company in a good position when pelagic fishing became the dominant part of the Faroese fishing industry shortly after the year 2000. This allowed the shipping company to buy other pelagic vessels and their fishing quotas.

In 2011, the shipping company changed its strategy. Together with others, they decided to buy both ships and factories from the bankruptcy estate of Faroe Seafood. This company, Faroe Origin, has two filleting factories and six trawlers that mainly fish and process pollack. In 2012, a pelagic factory was built in Tvøroyri under the name Varðin Pelagic, where the company’s pelagic ships can land their large catches. Today, the shipping company has almost 400 employees, and the annual revenue is more than DKK 1 billion.

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