Eimskipafélag Íslands hf.
Company Announcement

Eimskip introduces substantial changes in its sailing schedule

Weekly coastal sailings in Iceland with direct connection to UK and Mainland Europe and shorter transit time to and from USA

• Weekly coastal sailings with direct connection to UK and Mainland Europe
• Increased frequency and shorter transit time to and from USA
• Services twice a week for fresh fish from Iceland and the Faroe Islands
• Increased services for the oil industry with direct sailings to and from Scotland
• New services for pelagic fish with direct sailings to the Baltic

Eimskip has been preparing changes in its sailing schedule which aim at widening the system in the North Atlantic by increasing the number of port calls and adding a vessel to the fleet. Changing the port calls in USA was an important part in strengthening the sailing schedule. As from 26 March 2013 Eimskip will start calling Portland, Maine on the US East Coast, replacing Everett and Norfolk, Virginia, leading to the shortening of transit time. On 14 March 2013, Brúarfoss departs from Reykjavík on her first coastal route, heading to the north of Iceland and continuing to Faroe Islands, UK and Mainland Europe.

Main changes of the sailing schedule are as follows:

• New weekly coastal route in Iceland, connecting Iceland with the Faroe Islands, UK (Scotland) and Mainland Europe. The company’s vessels will have weekly calls in Reykjavík, Ísafjördur, Akureyri and Reydarfjördur, same ports of call as Iceland’s Ministry of the Interior intends to put up for tender for coastal sailings. Additional port calls are possible if needed. Eimskip operates offices and port facilities in the places set forth above, so the company is ready to execute these changes of the sailing schedule.
  
  The vessel Brúarfoss will depart from Reykjavík on her first weekly schedule on 14 March. This change makes it feasible for exporters in Iceland to transport fresh fish directly to the Thursday market in the UK and France as well as frozen fish to Mainland Europe for further distribution.
   
• Increased frequency and shorter transit time to and from the USA, will make it possible for the vessels on the American route to call, among other, Akureyri and Ísafjördur on their way from Norway. This creates direct access for the fish processing industry in Iceland to raw material from Norway and Russia.
   
• New services for fresh fish from the Faroe Islands, since the weekly services of the new sailing schedule with port of call in the Faroe Islands creates opportunities for transporting containerized fresh fish for distribution in the UK on Wednesdays. Apart from a call in Thorshavn there will also be a call in Vágur in the Faroese Sudurey where there has been substantial increase in processed pelagic fish.
   
• Eimskip‘s services to the growing oil industry in the North-Atlantic strengthens with connection to Scotland, the center of the oil industry in the UK. The direct connections from the North and Eastern part of Iceland will create an opportunity following the Icelandic development of services to the expected oil industry in the Dreki area on the Jan Mayen Ridge as well as for the territorial waters of Greenland. The connection is also important for the company’s further development of services for the oil industry in the Faroe Islands and Newfoundland. At the same time Eimskip already offers direct weekly sailings from Aberdeen to Norway with the company’s reefer vessels.
   
• Direct connection to the Baltic with a port call in Poland. Earlier in March Eimskip opened an office in Gdynia in Poland as a part of these changes.

Gylfi Sigfússon, CEO

“I am very pleased to announce these substantial changes of Eimskip’s sailing schedule which have been underway for more than a year. The precondition to these changes is the relocation of the company’s port from Everett and Norfolk, Virginia to Portland, Maine. The company’s increased business in the North-Atlantic through the connection in USA, Newfoundland, the Faroe Islands and Norway enable the company to start offering coastal services in Iceland. Increased number of port calls in Iceland and the Faroe Islands create new opportunities for Eimskip’s customers. The changes in the sailing system connect Iceland and the Faroe Islands directly to import and export markets, reduce traffic on roads and cost of transportation. Throughout Iceland, industry is developing and is now more diverse than before along with increased diversity in the seafood industry.

I hope that these changes will make it easier for our customers in Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands and Newfoundland to market their production and provide raw material in a more convenient and efficient way than before.”

Further information

• Gylfi Sigfússon, CEO, tel. +354 525 7202
• Ólafur William Hand, Senior Manager of Corporate Communication and Marketing, tel. +354 825 7221