Wrecked fishing boat returns to shore 37 years after sinking

A Danish seine boat brought a seven-metre wooden wreck into the harbour at Skagaströnd last week, revealing the remains of the Frami HU 25, which sank while heading out on a longline fishing trip in 1989, mbl.is reports.

The wreck was caught in the net of Bárður SH 81 in relatively shallow water a short distance north of Skagaströnd. Its owner, Þorvaldur Skaftason, was the only person aboard and nearly went down with the boat after it began taking on water and sank quickly.

Þorvaldur, who now lives in Hafnarfjörður, said seeing photographs of the wreck 37 years after the accident brought mixed emotions.

Unclear markings identified the boat

Workers at Skagaströnd harbour were surprised when Bárður SH arrived with the wreck. The boat appeared to have been painted orange and yellow when it sank, with older white paint underneath.

No name was visible on the outside of the wreck, but several markings could be seen, including HU 25 and unclear references to SH and SK. Further investigation showed that the boat had been called Lómur SH 83 when it came to Skagaströnd in 1985. It was later renamed Skarfur HU 66, and in 1988 Þorvaldur bought it and renamed it Frami HU 25.

Boat sank within moments

The article initially dates the sinking to 28 October 1989, while a later account refers to 28 November that year. Þorvaldur said he had been sailing for about half an hour in Húnaflói bay, north of the settlement of Bakki on the Skagi peninsula, when the boat suddenly filled with water.

He managed to fire an emergency flare, which was seen from shore, and the rescue team in Skagaströnd was alerted.

“I had been sailing at full speed when the boat slipped away under a wave and filled with water,” Þorvaldur was quoted as saying in Morgunblaðið’s coverage the day after the accident. He said the engine stopped immediately and the boat lost power.

Þorvaldur recalled that the boat’s bow rose as it sank and that he clung to it while trying to open the life raft. After struggling with the line that inflated the raft, he eventually managed to pull it open.

“Fortunately, it opened on the right side. As soon as I climbed into it, the boat sank. I only just made it,” he said.