Faroese campaign against industrial noise wins slow but steady gains

Trina Eysturoy founded the group Heimafriður in 2018 to protect people from noise, light and air pollution caused by ships, and after years of resistance her organisation has secured incremental improvements in harbour regulations and shipping practices.

“The fight has been hard,” Eysturoy told the public broadcaster Kringvarp Føroya in the third instalment of the radio series Oyggjar undir trýsti.

In 2017, while on maternity leave, she noticed that constant noise from passing ships made it impossible to keep her home peaceful. Concerned that neighbours might be suffering the same disturbance, she took the issue to the media and discovered that excessive ship noise was a nationwide problem.

Heimafriður’s initial hope that local authorities and environmental agencies would quickly resolve the issue proved unfounded. Instead, the group turned to the national government and commissioned a health study on the psychological impact of ship noise.

“I remember the chief medical officer and Pál Weihe confirming that living under such conditions was unbearable,” Eysturoy said. “Yet we met only resistance from the environmental authorities, who labelled us as troublemakers.”

Eight to ten years ago, Faroese institutions were unaccustomed to public pushback against industry, she added. “We were not anti-industry; we simply wanted to give people quieter living conditions.”

Small victories have since emerged. In 2022 a municipal ordinance introduced harbour quiet zones, a change Eysturoy welcomed. Shipping companies have also made voluntary adjustments, such as reducing engine noise, dimming deck lights and slowing vessel speeds when approaching shore.

“These are real improvements,” she said, “but problems remain, particularly with noisy cranes.”

Eysturoy’s campaign has faced persistent scepticism, especially because she is neither a marine engineer nor an industry insider. Early on, she brought a technical adviser to meetings to bolster credibility.

“In some forums they talked about chief engineers, never mentioning anyone with expertise in noise,” she recalled. Despite the hostility, she refuses to disclose details of how the opposition was organised.

“It was extremely unpleasant, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” she said. “If I had known in advance what I would face, I might never have started.”