January, 1st 2013 Mr. Hans Johannes á Brúgv took over as Director General for the Faroese Maritime Authority (FMA) and the Faroe Islands National & International Ship Register (FAS).
Mr. á Brúgv is 49 years old, educated Master Mariner and Master of Business Administration. Of work experiences he is best known as managing director of the fish exporting company Faroe Seafood (1997-2002) and principal of the Centre of Maritime Studies & Engineering School in Tórshavn (2004-2012).
Hans Johannes á Brúgv takes over the posistion as Director General after Tommy Petersen, who started in a new job as senior advisor for Danida, the Danish Government’s development aid organisation.
All though the Faroe Islands National Ship Register consists of nearly 600 vessels it has been quite challenging for the small island community in the North Atlantic to gain acknowledgement of the Faroe Islands being a modern and stable micro-state - also in regard to the system of justice and banking. However, this has now changed and the knowledge of FAS and the Faroe Islands as a shipping nation has spread in shipping circles, especially in Scandinavia.
Since the Faroese Government, in 2008, identified FAS and shipping related activities a new business platform, the FAS has developed from a modest ship register with some few local units to become a quality flag with Scandinavian standards. During this relatively short period the register has had an 163% increase in the number of ships, has climbed the White List of the Paris MoU, underwent the voluntary VIMSAS audit as well as all FMA & FAS units now are fully authorized by ISO9001 standards.
FAS will keep course and speed
The new Director General Hans Johannes á Brúgv wants to emphasize that the policy will continue to reflect the mission statement and the vision of the Faroese Maritime Authority. Follow this link: http://fma.fo/Default.aspx?pageid=18257
Additionally Mr. á Brúgv hopes that his experiences as principal of the Centre of Maritime Studies & Engineering will be helpful in order to establish closer relations between the school/cadets and the shipping companies. “Hardly anywhere else in the world we find so many young people joining the maritime training programs as in the Faroe Islands”, he stated.
Finally, Mr. á Brúgv says: “I truly believe that the organisation is fully trimmed as an authority and the FAS register has gained a quality brand - and I do hope to continue this good co-operation together with our dedicated employees, the Ministry and the most important, our business partners, locally and abroad. Together we are ready to meet new challenges and to set new goals”.
Tórshavn, the 25th of January
