The North Atlantics one-stop shop

The reclaiming of land will not only enable new companies to join 400 companies that already occupy the land around the port but also bigger more advanced fishing vessels that are becoming more frequent visitors to Reykavik.

This was illustrated last year with the rise in landings of fresh, frozen and processed herring and capelin into the port, according to Port of Reykavik marketing director Agust Agustsson.

He says the rise in more advanced and bigger fishing vessels which can process species like herring on board will hopefully see a new wave of business being brought to the Port, although he does admit that any port in the world may suffer in the future from the fact that vessels will process more fish on board, thus affecting the land based processing industries.

Reykavik has a prime position in the important North Atlantic region and offers many transportation advantages to not only the domestic fleets but vessels from the Faroe Islands, Greeland and Norway who can take advantage of the ports developing facilities and technology as well as know that the fish they land can be easily transported to anywhere in the world.

About 81,000 tonnes (gutted) of fresh and frozen fish was landed during 2001 but landed catch has been rising during the last 5 years (see table) “The rise is also due to the fact that many of the vessels in Iceland and other parts of Europe don’t actually have a home port any more they want to land at a port that offers everything and also a good transportation service to anywhere in the world,” says Agust Agustsson.

As a self sufficient business the Port of Reykjavik is also keen on marketing itself and will appear at this year’s Icelandic Fishing Exhibition. Like many fishing companies world-wide the Port promotes itself as a ‘one stop-shop for fishing fleets’.

The Port has become a natural choice for export business and provides a wealth of links for the industry that includes bunkering, repairs, fishing gear companies, seafood enterprises and steel and power plants.

According to Agust Agustsson these services will gradually get better as expansion plans take off over the next three to four years. But the success of the Port reflects the success of the industry.

Interest in land space around the Port, according to Agust Agustsson does fluctuate with the industry. “It is fair to say that when the industry is doing well we have more interest in space at the Port than at any other time.”

But with EU membership unlikely in the foreseeable future and the industry in Iceland in good shape, there is no doubt Reykjavik will remain not only Iceland’s leading port but one of the most developing and advanced ports in the North Atlantic.