News

Fresh seafood markets have changed drastically in just two weeks, and exports of fresh fish are only about a quarter of what they were before the Covid-19 pandemic began. There is also uncertainty about how markets will develop in the near future. These issues are raised in a letter by Mr Kristján Vilhelmsson, Samherji's managing director of ships operations, to the crews of vessels in the company's fishing fleet. Kristján encourages seafarers in the letter, saying that Samherji has always been able to rely on fishermen to deliver regardless of circumstances. He also examines the multifaceted effects the Covid-19 pandemic has had on Samherji's operations and how staff have adapted to changes that have been undertaken as a result of demands to prevent the spread of the disease.

Samherji's board of directors decided today to appoint Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson as CEO alongside Björgólfur Jóhannsson, who will continue in his position as CEO until the board decides otherwise.

Samherji Holding, a company affiliated with Samherji, has submitted a notice to the Central Bank of Iceland's Financial Supervisory Authority, requesting an exemption from mandatory bid obligation after the company exceeded the 30% threshold in ownership in Eimskip.

The unprecedented situation created by the spread of Covid-19, has, in one way or another, affected all businesses in the Icelandic economy. Samherji has implemented several measures to prevent contagion and implemented security plans for the right response in case of infection among employees.

"Samherji places great emphasis on ensuring the safety of all employees as well as their customers, but one of Samherji's main goals is to make the company a safe and accident-free workplace. For this reason, we took the potential Covid-19 spread seriously from day one and implemented special measures. By doing this, Samherji wanted to contribute to prevent the spread of the virus and do everything possible to prevent infection in the company's workplaces," says Björgólfur Jóhannsson, the interim CEO of Samherji.

Fjörfiskur, the employee club at Samherji in Dalvik, recently hosted its family day in the ski area in Böggvisstaðafjall. It is an annual event where Fjörfiskur rents the space for three hours and invites members along with their spouses, children and grandchildren.
Fjörfiskur provided ski equipment for those who needed it, and everyone was served waffles with hot chocolate. It is fifth-time Fjörfiskur hosts the event, and this time 80 people attended.

Samherji has informed its employees that no visits are allowed at the company's premises for an indefinite period due to uncertainty related to COVID-19, coronavirus.
In addition, employees have been encouraged to minimize travel as much as possible and to cancel travel to areas defined as risk zones where COVID-19 infection is widespread. This is done according to recommendations from the Icelandic Directorate of Health. Furthermore, Samherji has directed employees to respect quarantine instructions if they have recently visited defined risk areas.

With reference to Samherji’s press release from February 6th about the group’s mission to fulfil all of its obligations in Namibia, Samherji believes it is important to disclose the following with reference to the renewed seizure of the vessel Heinaste on February 7th.

As previously stated Samherji has been divesting its operations in Namibia. At this point the group has limited remaining exposure to the country. Of the three vessels that have been fishing in Namibian waters over the past year, Geysir, Heinaste and Saga, only one remains in Namibia. This is the factory trawler Heinaste. The purpose in Heinaste remaining in Namibia was to conclude a charter or sale to local operators with the object of preserving the jobs of local fishermen. On Friday, February 7th, the police in Namibia seized the vessel again

For a while Samherji has been divesting its operations in Namibia. At this point the group has limited remaining exposure to the country. Of the three vessels that have been fishing in Namibian waters over the past year, Geysir, Heinaste and Saga, only one remains in Namibia. This is the factory trawler Heinaste.
– Samherji is very pleased that a case concerning the vessel Heinaste and its captain was resolved in court on Wednesday. This triggers new opportunities, and the Samherji group is dedicated for these opportunities to be realised in Namibia, says Björgólfur Johannsson interim CEO of Samherji.

In RUV’s radio morning show yesterday there was a discussion about The Courage Foundation, a trust set up by WikiLeaks for fundraising the legal defense of whistleblowers and journalists.
It was stated during the discussion that Jóhannes Stefánsson, a former managing director of Samherji, would receive grants from the fund and it was noted that funds were being raised from the public in order to support him.
It has been stated that the purpose of the fundraising is to meet the costs that the beneficiaries believe they need to bear. Radio show host Sigmar Guðmundsson said the fund in question had supported well-known whistleblowers abroad and compared their case with Stefánsson’s case, but stated that the foreign cases were of different nature. "They are fighting with US authorities but Jóhannes Stefánsson is in a fight with the giant company operating here, Samherji," Guðmundsson said.

Samherji has taken steps to implement a corporate governance and compliance system. The decision to implement the system was made based on experience from the company’s operations in Namibia. The new system will be part of the Samherji Group’s future management structure and will cover Samherji and all its subsidiaries.
“Samherji will develop and implement a holistic compliance system based on the company’s risk structure with focus on, among others, anti-corruption, economic sanctions and anti-money laundering,” says Mr. Björgólfur Jóhannsson the interim CEO of Samherji. The system is expected to be implemented and up and running later this year.
“The compliance system will be key in a new internal program, where we will require all employees to take active part in the process to reassess our values, culture and routines. We will implement a system for risk assessment, code of conduct and policies in the compliance system.”