General
information

Facts about the faroe islands

Location and size

The Faroe Islands are located in the North Atlantic Ocean at 62º latitude North and 7º longitude West, approximately 430 kilometres south-east of Iceland, 600 kilometres west of Norway and 300 kilometres north-west from Scotland. The distance from Copenhagen to the Faroe Islands is approximately 1,300 kilometres. The Faroe Islands comprise 18 islands, separated by narrow sounds or fjords. The total area is 1,399 sq.km. The largest island is Streymoy (375.5 sq.km) with the capital, Tórshavn. The overall length of the archipelago north-south is 113 kilometres, and 75 kilometres east-west. The islands’ highest point "Slættaratindur" is 882 metres. On average the land is over 300 metres above sea level. The total coast line is 1,289 kilometres and at no time are you more than 5 kilometres (3 miles) from the ocean.

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Bunkers references

Form of government

The Faroe Islands are a self-governing nation within the Kingdom of Denmark. It has its own parliament and own flag.

The special constitutional status of the islands was originally founded on the ancient viking tradition from the 9th century AD (all free men convened at the Althing, later called Løgting, in the capital Tórshavn), and from the latter half of the 12th century on – when attached to the medieval Norwegian Kingdom – they further developed their own culture, language and other social institutions, while at the same time adapting constitutionally to the surrounding political contexts of coming and going empires reaching out from the Scandinavian heartlands.

Originally part of Norway

Norway and Denmark joined in a double monarchy in the late 14th century. When Norway in 1814 was cessioned to the King of Sweden, Norway's westernmost territories, among them the Faroe Islands, remained under the sovereignty of the Danish Monarch. Not least due to the large geographical distance to Norway and Denmark, the Faroe Islands always maintained a special jurisdiction along with their distinct language and culture, guarded by the ancient Løgting. Since the split from Norway, the Faroe Islands have accommodated to, but not fully integrated into, the modern state of Denmark.

Home Rule

Constitutionally, Faroese relations to the Danish State were in 1948 defined in the Home Rule legislation. This legislation divides the administrative and legislative areas into two groups joint affairs under Danish State authority, and special Faroese affairs under Faroese Home Rule, administration and legislation.The Faroe Islands have, for example, their own independent area regarding Customs and Excise, Taxation and Administration.

The great degree of Faroese autonomy may be best illustrated by the fact that the Faroe Islands are not members of the EU, nor EFTA (and thereby not of the EEA either).

Population

The population of the Faroe Islands as per January 2010 was 48,574. With a population density of 34,5 per square kilometer, the Faroe Islands have the second highest population density of the Nordic countries after Denmark. The Faroese are of Scandinavian origin, descendants of Vikings who came from Norway.

The Faroese settlement pattern is characterized by a large number of densely populated villages of varying size. There are in all about 100 towns and villages the largest town is the capital, Tórshavn, with 19,919 inhabitants. The second largest is Klaksvík with 4,817 inhabitants, and third is Runavík with 3,832 inhabitants.

Latitude / longtitide

The Faroe Islands are an island group consisting of 18 major islands about 655 kilometres (407 mi) off the coast of Northern Europe, between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about halfway between Iceland and Norway, the closest neighbours being the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland. Its coordinates are 62°00′N 06°47′W. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroe_Islands#Geography

Port overview

Faroese ports are mostly high quality ports that do not close because of weather. Please visit the ports in the Faroe Islands and view port specs by activating the following links:

On shore services to ships

All essential on-shore services for international vessels are available in the Faroe Islands. Amongst others, the below listed services and companies.

The Faroe Islands have lived of the sea for centuries. Due to this, we have developed expertice in providing services to ships. Please go to the following companies for more information: