After seven weeks in dry dock at the Fayard shipyard in Munkebo, Funen, the flagship of Strandfaraskip Landsins, Smyril, has now set course back to the Faroe Islands following extensive reconstruction and installation work.
The project involved major upgrades, including rebuilding the aft section of the vessel, installing two new stern thrusters, and fitting three new auxiliary engines — each more than twice as powerful as the previous ones. The work was part of Smyril’s 20-year classification overhaul, which also included a wide range of maintenance and inspection tasks.
Before departing from Munkebo, Smyril carried out test runs of various onboard systems. Many systems had been dismantled early in the process and had to be reassembled and calibrated before full operations could resume.
The large-scale project was managed jointly by staff from the operations department at Strandfaraskip Landsins and engineers from Fayard. At its peak, around 200 people were involved in the project, with up to 100 workers onboard at once and roughly ten subcontractors participating.
The Smyril crew in the dock consisted of 24 people, including both project managers. The remaining crew — 32 people in total, working in shifts — continued sailing onboard Galaxy during the overhaul.
“These past weeks have been quite demanding for many at Strandfaraskip Landsins, both at sea and on land,” said Managing Director Niels Juel Arge. “But everyone deserves heartfelt thanks for their great effort and support.”
In 2028, Smyril will return to dry dock once again, when the main task will be replacing the ship’s four main engines. The current project had a budget of DKK 120 million, including the cost of the replacement vessel, and a similar budget is expected for the 2028 refit.