Three cruise ships are expected to call on the port of Sauðárkrókur (Skagafjörður) next summer, RÚV reports. A total of 10 cruise ships have scheduled calls to the port in the future. Major improvements to the harbour have been made in the past years.
Since 2015, the catch is up by 20% per year in Sauðárkrókur, most of which is processed in Sauðárkrókur or shipped for processing elsewhere (a portion is also sold at the local fish market).
“FISK Seafood has seen an increase in its catch and Dögun’s shrimp-processing plant is expanding. More and more, boats from other harbours have been unloading here, as well,” Dagur Þór Baldvinsson, Port Director Skagafjarðarhafnir (Ports of Skagafjörður) stated.
In order to meet the increased demand, the municipality of Skagafjörður is currently updating its land-use plan. President of the Regional Council, Stefán Vagn Stefánsson, celebrates this increased activity, as it is important for the municipality to receive revenue from the harbour fund. The municipality must play its cards right to guarantee increased growth.
Asked whether the port was capable of receiving large cruise ships, Stefánsson replied, “We believe so. There are three ships scheduled next year and a total of ten ships are planning to call on the port over the next few years.”
Larger cruise ships will anchor outside the harbour, to begin with. The municipality plans on improving the port in order to accommodate larger cruise ships. The exact cost of such an upgrade remains unknown. Access to electricity must also be ensured.
“It’s one of our bigger projects … and there are, as the media has noted, environmental considerations, as well. To ensure that the ships have access to electricity in ports around the country. We will certainly try. Conducting electricity to the port in Sauðárkrókur has proven a challenge. There is no electricity security, so to speak. We’re working on laying an underground cable from Varmahlíð to Sauðárkrókur as we speak. That will hopefully solve the problem,” Stefánson said.
