– It’s dramatic – E24

Ydstebø lives in Kvitsøy on the outskirts of Stavanger.

– They only told us that the ferry would not go and that we had to follow the Boreal website, but there was nothing there, he says by phone to E24.

She herself was worried that something had happened to the crew, because she did not know that all the Boreal shuttles had stopped.

– It is dramatic for everyone who travels here on the island if this continues. We are an island municipality completely dependent on ferries, he says.

Crisis staff

According to NRK, the Nordland County Municipality has established crisis staff. Odd Inge Bardal, regional director of transport and infrastructure, tells the state channel that it is a “serious situation” and points out that many travelers are affected.

In Vestland County, Boreal is responsible for traffic on three of the Skyss company’s ferry routes. Skyss says it has crisis staff and is working to implement alternative solutions by renting passenger boats.

– Skyss takes the situation seriously, which affects many travelers, says director Målfrid Vik Sønstabø.

In addition, he says they are investigating whether other shipping companies can install replacement ferries on the routes.

– This is difficult to achieve in a short time and we will not be able to implement alternatives tonight, he says.

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No real alternative

Ydstebø uses the ferry to get to Stavanger. Now she hopes that the emergency alternative, which is a speedboat operated by the Columbus public transport company, can take her to the city.

However, this ship does not accept cars and only runs twice a day. Therefore, it is not a real alternative for most travelers.

Ydstebø is the former mayor of the island (2011-2019), which is home to about 520 inhabitants. She estimates that there are between 100 and 150 travelers from Kvitsøy every day.

County Mayor Marianne Chesak (Labor Party) said Wednesday night that Columbus will deploy a speedboat to all exits on the Mekjarvik – Kvitsøy connection on Wednesday night.

– Starting Thursday morning, Columbus will put in an additional ferry that will take all departures. This means that those who come by car on Wednesday night must drop it off at the dock again and can pick it up again on Thursday, he says.

The first fast boat will be in Mekjarvik until the 20th departure on Wednesday.

– Serious discrepancies revealed

Boreal has ferries and speedboats in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, Møre og Romsdal, Rogaland and Vestland.

A total of 41 ferries and speedboats have been taken out of service.

Dag Inge Aarhus, communications director for the Norwegian Maritime Directorate, tells E24 that “the overall management certificate” has been withdrawn after an additional audit. This affects all vessels.

– An additional audit has meant that we have withdrawn the “document” of Boreal, as it is called in the technical language, that is, the approval of the management, it says.

Press spokesperson Jon Kristian Fadnes at Boreal Norway confirms that Boreal Sjø has had an audit from the Norwegian Maritime Directorate today.

“During the audit, a serious discrepancy was revealed. Boreal has submitted an action plan to the Norwegian Maritime Directorate and is awaiting comments on it. Until the action plan is approved, the shipping company’s vessels must be at the dock. ”, He wrote in a message to E24.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to our customers and will provide further information as soon as it becomes available.”