“Freyja is a very powerful guard ship”
Coast Guard employees recently had the opportunity to travel to the Netherlands and receive training on the patrol vessel Freyja, which will be handed over to the Coast Guard in October, according to a press release from the agency.
It is claimed that when Freyja joins the Coast Guard’s fleet, there will be “great progress in the rescue capacity of the Coast Guard and equipment personnel.” Among other things, attention is drawn to the fact that when Freyja arrives to take two powerful patrol vessels specially equipped to carry out law enforcement, search and rescue of demanding sea areas of Iceland.
Less than half a year has passed since Áslaugu Örna Sigurbjörnsdóttir, Minister of Justice, announced that a patrol vessel would be purchased for the Coast Guard, and Georg Lárusson, CEO of the Icelandic Coast Guard, says he is satisfied with the outcome of the purchase process, which has gone quickly.
“We are extremely happy with the results of the tender and the people will get a very high-quality and well-made product. The towing capacity of Freyja is almost twice that of the guard ship Þór, or over 200 tons. There are also portable cranes on the back deck of the ship, which make rescue work and other work of the crew more difficult. Then there is one powerful big crane at the front on the back deck. The ship is very well equipped with tugs so that large and powerful ships can be towed. Freyja also has a so-called DP2 control system, which is somewhat more advanced than Þór’s system, and the ship is equipped with a so-called FIFI-2 fire-fighting system. We at the Coast Guard are extremely excited to have this great ship in the fleet. With the introduction of Freyja, a big step forward has been taken in the nation’s rescue issues. ” says George.
On board the patrol ship Freyja, there are living quarters for thirty-five people and good deck space, which makes the ship exceptionally well equipped to transport rescue equipment when land transport fails. In addition, Freyja is equipped with an ice floe similar to that of the patrol ship Þór, according to the announcement.
“Freyja is a very powerful patrol vessel and extremely well equipped to deal with the tasks assigned to the Norwegian Coast Guard. During the trip recently, it was nice to see and say that the ship is alive,” Einar H. Valsson, captain of the Coast Guard. He sailed with Freyja during the days when the ship was on a project run by sellers.