News

Margret EA 710, Samherji's pelagic vessel, sailed into Norðfjörður in Iceland on Monday with 2,000 tonnes of blue whiting caught south of the Faroe Islands. It was a very unusual trip because the crew of Margret EA had to wait eight days out at sea before fishing began.

Construction is currently underway at Samherji's land-based fish farming site in Grindavík. Three new sea holes have been drilled in the lava at the site.
This is a considerable investment to increase the capacity of the farm. The purpose is to ensure the water economy following last year's expansion and prepare for the next phase of expansion. At the site at Grindavík, Samherji operates both a nursery and an on-growing site for Arctic charr.

Harengus, a cargo ship owned by Samherji, is currently loading in San Vicente in Chile 4,000 tonnes of pelagic fish which will be sold in Nigeria. The vessel, which is now in charter with the company Green Sea in Belgium, sailed through the Strait of Magellan on the way west for South America and the trip was documented on video.
It seemed appropriate to document the trip as this year marks the 500th anniversary of the discoveries of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It was in October 1520 that Magellan discovered the Atlantic-Pacific passage, later named the Strait of Magellan. With this trip, Magellan led the first voyage around the globe but was unable to complete it because he passed away before it ended.

The Financial Supervisory Authority of the Central Bank of Iceland today granted Samherji Holding, a company affiliated with Samherji, an exemption from mandatory bid obligation in Eimskipafélag Íslands hf. (Eimskip). Given the current situation across financial markets, both in Iceland and the world, the conditions for exemption in the Icelandic Act on Securities Transactions are fulfilled.

Fresh seafood markets have changed drastically in just two weeks, and exports of fresh fish are only about a quarter of what they were before the Covid-19 pandemic began. There is also uncertainty about how markets will develop in the near future. These issues are raised in a letter by Mr Kristján Vilhelmsson, Samherji's managing director of ships operations, to the crews of vessels in the company's fishing fleet. Kristján encourages seafarers in the letter, saying that Samherji has always been able to rely on fishermen to deliver regardless of circumstances. He also examines the multifaceted effects the Covid-19 pandemic has had on Samherji's operations and how staff have adapted to changes that have been undertaken as a result of demands to prevent the spread of the disease.

Samherji's board of directors decided today to appoint Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson as CEO alongside Björgólfur Jóhannsson, who will continue in his position as CEO until the board decides otherwise.

Samherji Holding, a company affiliated with Samherji, has submitted a notice to the Central Bank of Iceland's Financial Supervisory Authority, requesting an exemption from mandatory bid obligation after the company exceeded the 30% threshold in ownership in Eimskip.

The unprecedented situation created by the spread of Covid-19, has, in one way or another, affected all businesses in the Icelandic economy. Samherji has implemented several measures to prevent contagion and implemented security plans for the right response in case of infection among employees.

"Samherji places great emphasis on ensuring the safety of all employees as well as their customers, but one of Samherji's main goals is to make the company a safe and accident-free workplace. For this reason, we took the potential Covid-19 spread seriously from day one and implemented special measures. By doing this, Samherji wanted to contribute to prevent the spread of the virus and do everything possible to prevent infection in the company's workplaces," says Björgólfur Jóhannsson, the interim CEO of Samherji.

Fjörfiskur, the employee club at Samherji in Dalvik, recently hosted its family day in the ski area in Böggvisstaðafjall. It is an annual event where Fjörfiskur rents the space for three hours and invites members along with their spouses, children and grandchildren.
Fjörfiskur provided ski equipment for those who needed it, and everyone was served waffles with hot chocolate. It is fifth-time Fjörfiskur hosts the event, and this time 80 people attended.

Samherji has informed its employees that no visits are allowed at the company's premises for an indefinite period due to uncertainty related to COVID-19, coronavirus.
In addition, employees have been encouraged to minimize travel as much as possible and to cancel travel to areas defined as risk zones where COVID-19 infection is widespread. This is done according to recommendations from the Icelandic Directorate of Health. Furthermore, Samherji has directed employees to respect quarantine instructions if they have recently visited defined risk areas.