Hvalur hf.

Hvalur hf. is an Icelandic commercial whaling and holding company.[1] Hvalur hf. was founded in 1947 as a commercial whaling company[2] by Loftur Bjarnason and Vilhjálmur Árnason and later run by their sons, Kristján Loftsson and Árni Vilhjálmsson.[1][3] In the recent decades, it has become one of the most powerful investment companies in Iceland, having owned large shares in Arion Bank, Marel, Origo hf. and Brim hf. amongst others.[4]

Hvalur hf.
TypePublic company
IndustryHolding company, commercial whaling
Founded1947 in Reykjavík, Iceland
FoundersLoftur Bjarnason, Vilhjálmur Árnason
Key people
Kristján Loftsson (CEO)

In 1948, the company purchased an American naval base at Hvalfjörður (Whale Fjord) and converted it into a whaling station. Norwegian crews were involved in training Icelandic whalers into the early 1950s.[5][6]

Whaling fleet

The company currently operates two whaling ships, Hvalur 8 and Hvalur 9. It further owns two more, Hvalur 6 and Hvalur 7, that where never fully repaired following the 1986 Hvalur sinkings.[7]

Ships history
  • Hvalur 1 Arrived in 1949.[8]
  • Hvalur 2 - Sold to Síldarverksmiðjur Ríkisins in 1962 and moved to Seyðisfjörður where its steam engine was used to produce steam for at herring smelt factory.[9]
  • Hvalur 3 - Sold to Síldarverksmiðjur Ríkisins in 1962 and moved to Seyðisfjörður where its steam engine was used to produce steam for at herring smelt factory.[9]
  • Hvalur 4
  • Hvalur 5 - Bought in 1955 and sold to Faroe Island in 1968.[10] On display in the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven, Germany.[11][12]
  • Hvalur 6 - Arrived in 1961. Currently in storage as of 2022.
  • Hvalur 7 - Arrived in 1961. Currently in storage as of 2022.
  • Hvalur 8 - Acquired in 1962. In active use as of 2022.
  • Hvalur 9 - Acquired in 1966. In active use as of 2022.

Controversies

On June 20th, 2023, the Icelandic Minister of Fisheries, Svandís Svavarsdóttir, temporarily halted whaling until 31 August 2023 due to alleged violations of the Icelandic Animal Welfare Act by whalers of Hvalur ehf.[13] On 1 September the same year, whaling resumed again with stricter conditions.[14]

References
  1. Ingi Freyr Vilhjálmsson (30 January 2016). "Baráttan um hvalveiðar Íslendinga: "Þetta var og er hans hjartans áhugamál"". Stundin (in Icelandic). Retrieved 25 July 2022. closed access
  2. ""Hvalur" vill leigja 3 erlend skip til hvalveiða". Vísir (in Icelandic). 19 February 1948. p. 4.
  3. Ingi Freyr Vilhjálmsson (22 November 2023). "Dramatískur endir á áratuga samstarfi". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). pp. 12–13. Retrieved 25 July 2022 – via Tímarit.is. open access
  4. Þórður Snær Júlíusson (8 November 2019). "Nýtt Ísland og nýjar valdablokkir". Kjarninn (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  5. "History of Whaling". The Húsavík Whale Museum. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
  6. Ellis, Richard (1999). Men and Whales. The Lyons Press. p. 472. ISBN 978-1-55821-696-9.
  7. Kristján Már Unnarsson (27 June 2022). "Sjötti hvalur vertíðarinnar kominn á land í Hvalfirði". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  8. "Hefur skotið 1409 stórhveli". Sjómannablaðið Víkingur (in Icelandic). 1 December 1997. pp. 45–47, 52–53, 55. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  9. "Tvö hvalveiðiskip til Seyðisfjarðar". Alþýðublaðið (in Icelandic). 1 May 1962. p. 5. Retrieved 30 July 2022 – via Tímarit.is. open access
  10. "Norðmenn vilja kaupa hvalbát af Hval hf". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 19 April 1988. p. 25. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  11. "Vinsælustu ljósmyndafyrirsæturnar". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 20 October 2002. p. 15. Retrieved 30 July 2022 – via Tímarit.is. open access
  12. "The RAU IX – evidence of past whaling". dsm.museum. German Maritime Museum. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  13. Hermann Nökkvi Gunnarsson (12 July 2023). "Ekki útilokað að bannið lengist". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  14. Kolbeinn Tumi Daðason (31 August 2023). "Hvalveiðivertíðin hefst á morgun með hertum skilyrðum". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 5 September 2023.


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