News

Construction of and installation of new equipment is currently underway in the vessel Oddeyrin EA, allowing the ship to start experimenting with bringing live groundfish ashore for processing. This particular technology and method have not been used on trawlers before.
The vessel, previously named Western Chieftain, is a 45-meter-long pelagic vessel that Samherji acquired and had converted for groundfish fishing with the option of pumping fish on board and store it alive in specially equipped tanks.

Samherji notes that the Norwegian bank DNB has received a violation penalty from the Norwegian supervisory body Finanstilsynet of 400 million Norwegian kroner. Samherji has no knowledge of this violation penalty beyond what may be read in publicly available sources.

Vilhelm Thorsteinsson EA 11, a new pelagic fishing vessel built especially for Samherji, sailed into Eyjafjördur in Iceland for the first time yesterday. Vilhelm Thorsteinsson is a large, elegant and exceptionally well-equipped vessel, 89 meters long and 16.6 meters wide. The carrying capacity is well over three thousand tons in thirteen tanks, where the catch will be cooled down to bring the best possible raw material to land.

The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV) ethics committee has found journalist Helgi Seljand guilty of violating RÚV's Code of Ethics with his written comments about Samherji. The committee decided that several of his remarks, which contained a "clear and personal stance" on Samherji, constitute a "serious violation" of the Code. This is the conclusion of the committee in a ruling announced today.

A new video about fresh fish production in Samherji's high-tech plant in Dalvík covers the entire production process in detail from when the fish is landed directly from Samherji's vessels to the processing house until fresh products are packed according to customers' requirements and ready for delivery.

Dear coworkers

Yesterday, RUV continued its long-standing attack on Samherji with coverage that was quite unbelievable. During an episode of Kveikur, old news from Cyprus was recycled, and auditors were brought to the fore who made all sorts of assertions without justification. Finally, a new Namibian citizen was presented that no one within Samherji has heard of until now.

The Oslo Public Prosecutor has dropped a criminal case directed at the Norwegian bank DNB due to transactions with companies affiliated with Samherji. DNB bank reported this in an announcement to the Oslo Stock Exchange this morning. The investigation, which covered allegations of money laundering, did not reveal any criminal conduct that could lead to prosecution, and therefore the case was dropped.

It was reported this morning that the prosecutor intends to bring charges against Namibian companies affiliated with Samherji in a case that is currently being tried in a court in Windhoek, Namibia. More than twenty Namibian nationals are on trial, but this morning it was announced that the prosecutor intends to add charges against three Namibian companies affiliated with Samherji and their management. Under Namibian law, charges against these companies automatically result in their directors being charged in their capacities.

Haraldur Grétarsson will resign from the European operations of Samherji Holding ehf. in early April. Mr. Grétarsson has held the position of managing director of the Deutsche Fischfang Union (DFFU) in Cuxhaven, one of Germany's oldest fisheries companies, and has served on the boards of various companies. Baldvin Thorsteinsson has been appointed to replace Grétarsson and will be based in the Netherlands. With regards to these changes, routine organizational adjustments will be made in the near future.

The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV) reported yesterday on an ongoing investigation in Norway into the business practices of the Norwegian bank DNB. Companies affiliated with Samherji were wrongfully made the main focus of this coverage. RÚV also repeated falsehoods concerning the company Cape Cod FS.