The fishing industry is fixed by ferry – E24

Late on Wednesday night, the Norwegian Maritime Authority announces that the shipping company will receive a temporary navigation permit.

Just before that, Fisheries Minister Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen asked the management to take action.

– Hundreds of tons of salmon are trapped in the ferry docks and will not continue on their way. Therefore, I have asked the Norwegian Maritime Directorate to assess how the production of socially critical foods, such as aquaculture, can be maintained, he said in a press release Wednesday night.

He stressed that these are great values ​​that cannot wait long.

Both he, Trade and Industry Minister Iselin Nybø (V) and Transport Minister Knut Arild Hareide (KrF) met tonight with the Norwegian Maritime Directorate to discuss solutions to safeguard socially critical activities.

– We experience that they work constructively with the transport company to obtain a solution to the situation. We have received assurances that management will consider various solutions to deal with socially critical activities, said Trade and Industry Minister Iselin Nybø.

Øyvind Andre Haram, Head of Communications for Seafood Norway, told NTB on Wednesday night that there was a player somewhere with 25 trucks with seafood ready.

– Our member companies are far from being located solely on the continent. All fresh seafood transport runs from companies with slaughterhouses and receptions on islands along the coast where Boreal transports now stand, Haram tells the news agency.

No information for passengers

In addition, a number of passengers were affected when the Norwegian Maritime Directorate refused the shipping company to sail on Wednesday afternoon.

Mirjam Ydstebø lives in Kvitsøy on the outskirts of Stavanger, and was one of many who remained at the ferry dock on Wednesday afternoon not knowing what was going on.

– 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.

Mirjam Ydstebø uses the ferry to get to Stavanger.

She 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.

Crisis staff

According to NRK, the Nordland County Municipality assigned crisis staff after the ferry’s refusal. 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 stated Wednesday night that they also put in crisis personnel and worked to implement alternative solutions by renting passenger boats.

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

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– 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 were out of service.

Dag Inge Aarhus, director of communications for the Norwegian Maritime Directorate, told E24 on Wednesday that “the general 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.”