Strandfaraskip Landsins is the government agency for public transport in the Faroe Islands. It is owned by the Faroese national government under the Ministry of Finance (Fíggjamálaráðið) and runs eight ferry routes and a number of bus routes.
History
Strandfaraskip Landsins was established in 1917 when the government took over the ferry Smiril from the brothers Petur og Niels Juel Mortensen from Suðuroy. They had bought the ship in 1895 and operated a scheduled service between Tórshavn and several ports in Suðuroy. In the first half of the 20th century, several other private regional services were founded, which combined freight, mail, passengers and milk transport to and from Tórshavn. Due to the lack of roads, ferries also served as a means for transport between villages-on-the-same-island. Many routes and vessels were taken over by Strandfaraskip Landsins in the 1960s and 1970s.
From 1960 onwards the road network was being extended rapidly and several private bus routes were founded. In 1980 the government agency Bygdaleiðir was established and tasked with the integrated bus network in central Streymoy, linking Tórshavn to the ferry service to Vágar, and on Sandoy. Several private companies were taken over in the subsequent years. Bygdaleiðir fused into Strandfaraskip Landsins in the 1990s.
In 1980 Strandfaraskip was appointed responsibility over the new helicopter network. This was transferred to Atlantic Airways in 1994. Strandfaraskip's freight branch was privatised in 2006, with the exception of public service obligations to the outer islands.
Until February 2008 the administration of Strandfaraskip Landsins was located in Tórshavn, but in 2007 Jacob Vestergaard, then-Minister of Internal Affairs, moved it to Tvøroyri on the island of Suðuroy. This served to decentralise jobs in the public sector and was a kind reminder of Strandfaraskip Landsins' roots in Suðuroy.
The name Strandfaraskip Landsins means 'national coastal transport', reminiscing of its original focus on seaborne transport. It is often referred to Strandferðslan or SSL. The ferry routes are known as oyggjaleiðir (Island routes) and bus routes as bygdaleiðir (Village routes).
Ferries
Routes:
route 7: Tórshavn (Streymoy) – Krambatangi (Suðuroy) route 36: Sørvágur (Vágar) – Mykines route 56: Klaksvík (Borðoy) – Syðradalur (Kalsoy) route 58: Hvannasund (Viðoy) – Svínoy – Kirkja and Hattarvík (Fugloy) route 60: Gamlarætt (Streymoy) – Skopun (Sandoy) route 61: Gamlarætt (Streymoy) – Hestur route 66: Sandur (Sandoy) – Skúvoy route 85: Gamlarætt (Streymoy) – Skopun (Sandoy) route 90: Tórshavn (Streymoy) – Nólsoy
M/F Smyril - the ferry to Suðuroy
MS Smyril is the fifth Smyril in service between Tórshavn and Suðuroy since 1895, the name meaning merlin. She takes up 975 passengers and up to 200 cars and was built in 2005. The crossing over Suðuroyarfjørður takes two hours and five minutes in normal weather and swell conditions, though especially in winter trips are often cancelled or severely delayed. As of 2020 Smyril crosses the Suðuroyarfjør either twice-daily (3 days per week) or thrice-daily (4 days per week). It is common for Suðuroyingar to stay at friends or family in Tórshavn during weekdays, though others commute on a more-or-less daily basis.
The frequency has been topic of extensive public and political debate, where the islanders would be served best with three trips a day whereas the Faroese government also is concerned about the cost-efficiency. The crossing distance is .
Planning-wise, 3.5 return trips per day are theoretically feasible, based on 45 minutes turnaround time and a 10-minute margin for delay, and a timeframe from 6 to 23 o'clock. When the Sandoyartunnilin opens in 2023 and provided that a suitable ferry terminal were available in Sandoy, Smyril could possibly reduce the crossing distance down to , allowing an increase in frequency to five return trips per day.
M/F Teistin - the ferry to Sandoy and Hestur
Teistin (black guillemot) operates the second-busiest route, between Skopun on Sandoy and Gamlarætt on Streymoy. It takes 288 passengers and up to 33 cars. M/F Teistin was built on Skála Skipasmiðja in 2001. Teistin has a frequent schedule, it goes up to 9 times daily each way (9 times from Skopun and 9 times from Gamlarætt). Teistin also sails the route between Gamlarætt and Hestur, all trips on prior request by telephone.
In addition to Teistin, the ferry Hasfjord has operated a cargo-only services on both routes since 2020. With a capacity of 12 passengers, she can also be used for passenger services in rare cases.