News

This week, there comes a parting of the ways for us and the vessel Baldvin NC, previously called Baldvin Þorsteinsson EA, when it is handed over to its new owners. This occasion marks the end of its 25 years of success with the Baldvin name.

The freezer trawler Baldvin Þorsteinsson EA came to Iceland 25 years ago on November 20th 1992, and was Samherji’s first new built vessel. It was built in Flekkefjord in Norway, a 1,500 tonne ship and 66 metres long. The first captain to take command was Þorsteinn Vilhelmsson and other captains during the 10 years that the ship was part of the Samherji fleet were Arngrímur Brynjólfsson, Guðmundur Jónsson and Hákon Þröstur Guðmundsson.

The multi-fishing vessel Kristina EA has been sold to Russia and will be delivered to new owners next week. Thereby ends the more than ten years´ history of this vessel in Samherji ownership.
Kristina EA is a vessel of approx. 7,000 tns and 105 mtrs in length, built in Spain in 1994. She became the largest ship in the Icelandic fishing fleet on arrival in Iceland in May 2005 under the name of Engey RE-1. Samherji purchased the vessel in March 2007 from HB-Grandi hf. and gave it the name Kristina EA.

The prize is awarded to Samherji for the land processing of the company in Akureyri and Dalvík. The prizes are first and foremost an acknowledgement of the wonderful work of our staff through the years. The evaluation of the jury stated that "Samherji has received this recognition for having played a leading role for years in developing technology and equipment in fish processing."
Guðmundur Þ. Jónsson's captain of Vilhelm Thorsteinsson EA received the award in the Outstanding Captain category.

Samherji and Ice Fresh Seafood are proud to air the new promotion videos that were premiered at the Seafood Expo in Brussels last April. The videos are a new and fresh way to introduce the brand Ice Fresh Seafood and what Samherji and Ice Fresh Seafood stand for.

"THE QUEST FOR QUALITY - Passion for fish products"
"THE QUEST FOR QUALITY - From catch to table"

“We are proud of the operating performance of Samherji hf. Coordinated effort, diligence, hard work and faith among our employees and associates all over the world has once more returned gains, over which there is every reason to rejoice” says Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson, CEO of Samherji hf. when the group´s annual financial statements for the year 2016 were presented, after Samherji’s Annual General Meeting.
The profit of Samherji hf. from the operations of the company’s subsidiaries and associates in fifteen countries amounted to ISK 14.3 billion. More than half the group´s operations are abroad.

Cuxhaven NC 100 the new ship of Deutsche Fischfang Union GmbH, a subsidiary of Samherji in Germany, has left for her first fishing trip. Cuxhaven NC 100, designed by Rolls Royce, is 81,22m long and 16m wide, built in the Mykleburst shipyard in Norway. Cuxhaven is the first new construction for Deutsche Fischfang Union in 21 years, the previous ship having had the same name, Cuxhaven. The ship’s captains are Stefán Viðar Þórisson and Hannes Kristjánsson.
The owners of Samherji along with Haraldur Grétarsson, the Managing Director of Deutsche Fischfang Union and Óskar Ævarsson, the Manager of fishing, formally received the ship in Ålesund, Norway August 15th. Then, on August 20th after fishing equipment was loaded on board and the ship prepared in every other respect, Cuxhaven sailed to fish in the Barents Sea.

investments for 11 billion ISK in the fishing industry in Eyjafjörður area in just 3 years

Samherji has signed a land lease agreement with Dalvík town for around 23,000 square mtrs of land for a new house in Dalvík. The agreement is a major step towards a new and more advanced operation of Samherji in Dalvík. The transfer of Samherji's operations to the port area also creates opportunities for Dalvik town to organize the area in a way that benefits the community as a whole. Samherji's investment in housing and equipment is estimated around 3,500 million ISK.

With this letter, the Board of Directors of Samherji hf.,  on behalf of the company and associated parties (jointly referred to as Samherji), requests that the Supervisory Board of the Central Bank of Iceland launch an inquiry into the administrative practices of the bank, its Board of Directors and other members of staff, with regard to currency controls, with particular reference to search of premises, investigation, communication, charges and media coverage, as handled by the Central Bank (referred to as the Central Bank or the bank) with regard to matters relating to Samherji.
This request is submitted with reference to the provisions of Act No. 36/2001 on the Central Bank of Iceland,  Article 28 of which stipulates that the bank’s Supervisory Board shall ensure that the bank operates in accordance with the laws governing its activities.
It must be regarded as beyond all doubt that this stipulation comprises a wide-ranging obligation to ensure that the administration of the Central Bank complies with the law of the land in the execution of its duties and adheres to the provisions embodied in the Administrative Procedures Act as well as in other aspects of the law.

Dear staff members

The Central Bank’s case against the Samherji management has been dismissed 
The conclusion of the case is that no punishable offence has been committed
The Central Bank’s allegations and search of premises had no foundation
The Central Bank must accept responsibility

Last week, the office of special prosecutor dismissed a legal case against myself and a number of Samherji employees. A letter from the prosecutor’s office contains the following statement: "To be precise, it was concluded by the Office that the results of the case investigation regarding alleged misdemeanours and related incidents did not indicate the eventual possibility of a conceivable personal criminal liability [mine] or that of other individuals accused of alleged breaches relating to the case. For this reason alone the office terminated its processing of alleged breaches relating to the case, since lack of evidence sufficed to exclude a potential criminal prosecution with regard to the alleged offences." 
I am particularly grateful to receive this outcome, at long last, after an investigation lasting close to four years. I feel this conclusion represents a significant victory for us and a recognition of our professional integrity in our work. I have repeatedly made known our readiness to cooperate in the clearing up of this case and I have never excluded the possibility that mistakes might have been made at some point. On the other hand, I have always maintained that we conducted our operation in good faith. This matter could have been clarified much sooner if the Central Bank had so wished. It would appear, however, that a relentless effort was maintained to find a weakness in our operation in order to justify the harsh beginning of this investigation.

Samherji's German subsidiaries, Icefresh GmbH in Frankfurt and Cuxhavener Reederei GmbH in Cuxhaven have acquired a 20% share in the Norwegian company Nergaard AS, which is one of the largest
seafood companies in Norway.

Nergaard AS has a long history in the Norwegian fisheries and is an integrated fishery group whose business activities include fishing, processing and sale of seafood products. The group operates
five trawlers and a few production companies in North Norway, with headquarters in Tromsø. The yearly turnover of Nergaard has been close to 35 billion ISK per year and it´s processing
factories have processed nearly 50,000 tons of whitefish and 100,000 tons of pelagic fish per year. The company's products include frozen and fresh ground fish, salted fish, dried fish, frozen
herring, capelin and mackerel.

Samherji began participation in the German seafood industry in 1994. The operations have been successful, operating trawlers fishing in the North Atlantic. Director of the German fishing enterprises
is Haraldur Grétarsson.

Icefresh GmbH was founded in Cuxhaven in 2004 with the purpose of processing and marketing fresh fish for the German market. The company has grown rapidly and has acquired a strong position in the
German market for fresh fish. In 2012 Icefresh moved all its activities to Frankfurt. This year´s turnover is estimated around 10 billion ISK and processed raw materials around 15,000 tons. The
company's growth has been remarkable and investment in Nergård is a logical continuation since over 80% of the turnover stems from Norwegian fish and fish landed in Norway. The MD of Icefresh
GmbH is Sigmundur Andrésson.