News

06.11.2007

Eimskip signs 5-year extensive shipping agreement

Alcoa Fjardaál and Eimskip have signed an extensive agreement calling for Eimskip to import over 180,000 tonnes and export 70,000 to 80,000 tonnes of freight per year for Alcoa Fjardaál. The agreement covers all shipments of anodes for Alcoa Fjardaál’s aluminium smelter in Reydarfjordur.

This agreement, which comes fast on the heels of an agreement entered into by the companies earlier this year, was announced last February. An agreement was also made on Eimskip’s servicing of ships for Fjardaál in Reydarfjordur. A part of that agreement was the unloading of 660,000 tonnes of alumina. Altogether, Eimskip will therefore transport and service about 1.3 million tonnes per year for Alcoa Fjardaál.
 
The shipping and service agreements of the two companies will lead to one of the most extensive collaborations in the field of transport undertaken in Iceland.
 
When the aluminium smelter reaches full operating capacity, Mjóeyrarhöfn Harbour will become one of the biggest shipping ports in Iceland. In comparison, about 2 million tonnes go through Reykjavík Harbour every year and 900,000 tons through Grundartangi Harbour.

Eimskip has added BBC Reydarfjordur to its shipping fleet and initiated a new shipping schedule to see to the shipments. Today Eimskip’s fleet is 40-50 ships. BBC Reydarfjordur will sail weekly between Reydarfjordur and Mosjoen, Norway.
 
Each pot in the Fjardaál aluminium smelter in Reydarfjordur has 40 anodes, and each of them weighs one tonne. The total number of pots is 336, and each year 200,000 anodes must be shipped from Norway to Iceland, which altogether weigh about 183,000 tonnes.
 
Eimskip has purchased 850 new, specially designed containers for shipping anodes for Fjardaál. With new technology specifically developed for the shipments, the loading of the electrodes into containers and their offloading will be completely automatic, with no need of manual labour.
 
Electrolytic reduction to aluminium burns up most of the anodes, leaving anode butts. Eimskip will see to shipping these back to Mosjoen, Norway, for recycling. Thus, an estimated 43,000 tonnes of anode butts will go for recycling each year. Alcoa Fjardaal also plans to capture “anode dust” and send it for recycling; the dust is a by-product of the electrolytic reduction in aluminium production.
 
Alcoa Fjardaál's Director Tómas Sigurdsson said at the signing of the agreement: “When Fjardaál’s operations reach full capacity, the main thing will be that the transport of raw material for manufacturing not be disrupted. We are therefore extremely pleased with this agreement with Eimskip, which has extensive and successful experience providing secure shipments on difficult sailing routes.”
 
Eimskip Iceland’s Director Gudmundur Davídsson said on the same occasion: “A lot of build-up has occurred in East Iceland in recent years, and Eimskip has actively participated in it. Over 30 new jobs have been created in the area this year, in addition to the 40 jobs that there were already at Eimskip in East Iceland. All of these jobs are due to the Alcoa Fjardaál aluminium smelter. Good harbour facilities in Reydarfjordur create many possibilities for Eimskip to rationalize its domestic shipments and build up the port in Reydarfjordur to serve North and East Iceland. The harbour will clearly be very important in the future because of its proximity to Europe.”