Abandoned whaling station at Við Áir, located between Hósvík and Hvalvík, Streymoy, Faroe Islands anno 21th Century

 

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Photos Vincent van Zeijst

This station was the last of the totally seven whaling stations in the Faroe Islands, built in 1905 and operated by the Norwegian whaling company Chr. Salvesen&Co. Until 1930. On 1936 purchased by the Faroese company P/F Sperm which rebuilt and modernize the station. The start was not successful while the Falkur and Heykur just caught 17 whales. Two years later a third boat Ribeira was bought and in the meantime caught each boat around the 100 whales. The outbreak of the Second World War forces to stop all activities until 1945. With almost diminished whale stocks the company was it almost impossible to make profits and she went bankrupt in 1952. The next years was the stationed operated by the company Heykur until the company Partafelagið Hvalarakstur took over the activities between 1954-1958. The oil production was stopped in 1958 and all activities until 1962 when the company Treyst started. Commercial whaling was almost an illusion with the last whale caught in 1986. In 1989 was decided to convert the station into a maritime museum.