On Saturday morning, the Faroe Marine Research Institute’s newest vessel was christened in Skála.
The new research vessel was christened Jákup Sverri in honor of Jákup Sverri Joensen, the first marine biologist in the Faroe Islands and former director of the Faroe Marine Research Institute.
Jákup Sverri will be the Faroe Marine Research Institute’s fourth research vessel but the first of them to be built specifically for this purpose.
It was meant to arrive in the summer but it was unfortunately delayed.
Jákup Sverri is meant to replace the old research vessel, Magnus Heinason, however, it can’t be put to use before it has been properly registered, and that may take some time, as the Faroese Maritime Authority, Sjóvinnustýrið and the Faroese Ministry of Fisheries disagree on how the vessel should be registered.
Jacob Vestergaard, Minister of Fisheries says that Jákup Sverri should be registered as a fishing vessel, while the Faroese Maritime Authority claims it ought to be registered as a merchant vessel
– If a research vessel isn’t meant to fish, there is no use for a research vessel, Jacob Vestergaard tells Kringvarp Føroya’s radio station.
Pictures from the christening of Jákup Sverri can be found here.
