News archive - 2020

Last week, the establishment of what soon will become Iceberg Seafood's new sales office began at the eastern part of the port in Hirtshals. Over time, the office in Havnegade has become outdated, and therefore the company will now secure its future surroundings.

When Biomass.dk soon erects the first stage of a large and modern storage facility for liquid biomass at the Port of Hirtshals, it will be a step into the future - both for the green agenda and for the fish processing cluster in Hirtshals.

On Thursday, 20 August, the Port of Hirtshals had invited 17 specialists to a meeting in Aalborg to learn more about the fuels of the future. In the long term, the Port of Hirtshals has an objective of having green fuels based on wind energy produced at the port in Hirtshals.

An electricity consumption of around 200,000 fewer kilowatt-hours in the first half of 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, speaks its own clear language. The Port of Hirtshals' installation of the digital registration and invoicing system ProPower has, in addition to significantly reducing the consumption of the vessels in the port, also meant a reduction in the port's total electricity consumption of 10%.

In January, Smyril Line started a new service from Hirtshals to Torshavn on the Faroe Islands and Thorlakshöfn in Iceland. Thorlakshöfn is located 40 km south of the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. The service is operated by the vessel M/V "Akranes", and after the first six month, the service is exhibiting a steady growth on the traffic between West Iceland and Hirtshals.

Nordjyske Jernbaner has been working at full throttle to complete Denmark's first "digital" shunting locomotive. The locomotive, which was completed on 26 June and will be final approved by the end of November, will be used for relocation of infrastructure but can also be used as pilot for freight trains to and from Hirtshals.

After three months of border closures, the ferry companies at the Port of Hirtshals are experiencing an increasing demand from Danes and Norwegians who are eager to travel. Last Monday, it was again possible to travel to and from Denmark as a tourist - and the ferry companies have worked hard to be ready to welcome the many passengers.

During the first four months of 2020, the Port of Hirtshals has increase its turnover by 0.4% in freight traffic compared to the same period last year. Thereby, the development at the Port of Hirtshals defies the general tendency to slowdown and decline in the transport market.

With a profit for the year of DKK 10.3 million, the Port of Hirtshals can look back on a satisfying 2019 which among other things showed a growth in the car and passenger traffic as well as the total inflow of fish.

On Friday 3 April, the Port of Hirtshals was able to put a closure to the construction work regarding the establishment of the new Ferry berth 4 at NordsøTerminalen. Already the day after, the ferry berth was put into service due to heavy traffic at the Port of Hirtshals.

In the midst of the corona pandemic from which our society, and not least Europe and the rest of the world, is suffering, positive developments from the middle of Scandinavia can be reported. After being taken out of service for planned dock and subsequent laying up, Color Line already re-inserts "SuperSpeed 1" in one daily route between Kristiansand and Hirtshals.

NordsøTerminalen at the Port of Hirtshals got yet another ferry berth on Friday when the contractor handed over Ferry berth 4 which is an extension of Trailerkajen. The Port of Hirtshals is thus ready to receive Fjord Line's new catamaran "Fjord FSTR" which will take over the route between Hirtshals and Kristiansand later this year.

After the announcement by the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday evening that the country will be closed down in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections, the Port of Hirtshals decided to adapt the activities of the port to the current situation.

Just over a month after the four wind turbines on the eastern part of the port in Hirtshals were put into operation, the first positive indications show Hirtshals as an energy positive town.

With a total value of DKK 1.46 billion, the Port of Hirtshals is back in the top in the fishing sector among the Danish ports. In 2019, the Port of Hirtshals has experienced a significant development in the handling and distribution of fish that primarily has been borne by Hav Line's establishment of the largest salmon terminal in the world and the commissioning of the harvesting vessel "Norwegian Gannet".

Far faster than expected, all fish boxes in North Jutland are washed in Hirtshals Fiskeriforening's new box washing facilities at the Port of Hirtshals. The new facilities in Hirtshals were put into operation on 2 July 2019 after the construction of a new hall and the installation of a new highly efficient box washer.