Iceland Coast Guard UT 786 CD "Freyja", ex. "E.R. Vittoria"/"GH Endurance"

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New coastguard ship confirmed, abuse on another

The coastguard is in the news for two reasons this week, as plans for Freyja, the latest addition to the patrol ship fleet are announced. Freyja will be the first coastguard vessel not based in Reykjavík. Meanwhile, an existing ship’s captain has been put on leave over sexual harassment allegations.

According to RÚV sources, it is the captain of the old patrol ship Týr who has been sent on leave. A written response from the coastguard says the agency is investigating communications and working conditions on board. “The reason for the investigation is notifications that were received by coastguard managers at the weekend about suspected sexual harassment.” The Mannlíf newspaper reported on Friday that women are routinely harassed and degraded aboard coastguard vessels.

According to RÚV sources, an alternative captain has been asked to take over Týr while the usual captain is on leave. The complainants are believed to be two young female crewmembers on the ship.

The coastguard did not answer RÚV’s questions about when the alleged incidents took place, over how long a time period, the age of the victims, or whether any other similar cases are also under investigation.

Signed up for Freyja​

The new coastguard vessel, Freyja, will be based in Siglufjörður, northwest Iceland, it has been confirmed. Ríkiskaup (Central Public Procurement) and the coastguard put out a tender for another ship earlier this year and received five bids. Two of them were valid and the lower one accepted.

The boat is being bought from United Offshore Support GmbH and a statement says it is particularly well-equipped for search & rescue and coastal patrol purposes. It was built in 2010 and has been servicing offshore oil companies ever since.

Freyja, as the boat will be called, shares many similarities with the coastguard flagship, Þór, when it comes to size and equipment. Freyja has even more towing power and rescue capabilities than Þór, which was built specifically for the Icelandic coastguard in Chile. Þór was commissioned in 2006, launched in 2009 and entered service in 2011. Freyja is 86 metres long and 20 metres wide and will be welcomed by the coastguard in October at a cost of 1.7 billion krónur.

According to the coastguard, stationing Freyja in Siglufjörður instead of Reykjavík (where Þór will continue to be based) is a response to more commercial shipping passing the north and east of Iceland, as well as more cruise ships.

The mayor of Fjallabyggð, Elías Pétursson, says Siglufjörður harbour is already mostly ready to receive Freyja and needs only minor adjustments. He believes it is an important positive step for Icelanders outside the capital that a patrol ship will be based away from Reykjavík for the first time.

Kilde: RÙV

"Freyja"
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Illustrasjon: via Iceland Coast Guard
 
Freshly-Painted Freyja Coming to Iceland

The Icelandic Coast Guard’s new patrol ship Freyja is expected to arrive in Iceland on November 6. The ship has already been painted in the flag colours and its crew has arrived in Rotterdam, the Netherlands to sail Freyja home to Siglufjörður. Freyja is 86 metres long and 20 metres wide, and will join the Coast Guard’s other main patrol ship Þór in monitoring Icelandic waters.

Freyja is similar to Þór in terms of size and equipment, though with greater towing and rescue capacity. Both ships are specially equipped to carry out law enforcement as well as search and rescue missions in Iceland’s demanding conditions.

Þór’s arrival to Iceland just over 10 years ago marked a turning point in the Icelandic Coast Guard’s search and rescue ability. The ship was used as a mobile power station for Dalvík two years ago and provided a large part of the town with electricity during a power outage. The ship’s towing capacity has come to good use in towing incapacitated ships over the years.

Kilde: Iceland Review

"Freyja"
Freyja-Icelandic-Coast-Guard-Facebook.jpg

Foto: Guðmundur St. Valdimarsson
 
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