Morten Rognmo and his family from Asker are going to the Nordreisa in Troms arrived at the ferry berth on Andøy in the far north of Nordland three quarters of an hour before departure, and are excited to see if they will take the ferry over to Senja in Troms. But the queue of cars is dangerously long. – We count on it. We should, there aren’t any more departures today. But when he sees the ferry filling up, and it’s still a long time before their turn, he becomes more concerned. – It looks like we will struggle to get a place, he says disappointedly. Because the detour is long. From the ferry site on Andøy to the ferry site in Senja, it is over 440 kilometers to drive around. Ferga Stetind from 1977 adds a quay with a capacity of 200 passengers. And when it leaves the dock, dozens of cars remain. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news It is not only the tourists who are worried about the ferry chaos that has occurred both in Northern Norway and in Western Norway this summer. news has previously told about the chaos that arose when 100 motorhomes were left on the ferry quay in Rødøy last weekend when the last ferry had left for the evening. On Thursday, Torghatten changed the ferry routes and moved the crew’s lunch break to deal with the ferry chaos on Kystriksveien – to strong criticism from the trade union. And it is not just on these ferry connections that there have been long queues. – There has been heavy traffic and long queues on several connections both in Troms and Nordland. Many people have discovered that Northern Norway is beautiful and popular, confirms Marius Hansen, managing director of Torghatten Nord AS. Getting a bad reputation The ferry problem is giving Northern Norway a bad reputation, says Andøy mayor Kjell Are Johansen. Andøy mayor Kjell Are Johansen wants more ferries and an increased frequency of routes next summer. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news – The tourist pressure in Northern Norway has become so great that we as a region and authority have to deploy larger ferries. If not, Northern Norway will ultimately appear as a negative product. There were three ferries a day between Andøy and Senja and the ferry takes two hours one way. the mayor sees every day that there are cars left on the ferry quay when the last ferry has left. – These must spend the night at the ferry terminal. It gives a negative impression of the tourist product we try to offer our guests. They come home and tell others that they must not travel to Andøy. Therefore, we must get more ferries or increased frequency, says the mayor. Troms county council is responsible for the ferry connection between Andøy and Senja. Dutch Nika has been waiting for the ferry to Senja for six hours. – We are a little disappointed with how things work here, she says. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news A solution in this connection can come in autumn at the earliest, according to county deputy mayor Benjamin Furuly in Troms county municipality. – In the short term, it is very challenging to increase capacity. The whole country is struggling to get hold of ferry crew. Then it is also the case that the economy we receive from the state is so poor that it will take time to get the ferry routes in Troms equipped. Free ferries bring more tourists County councilor for transport Marianne Dobak Kvensjø (H) in Nordland has also pointed to several reasons for the ferry chaos. – Much of this comes from the fact that we have received free ferries, which increase demand, and then the krone exchange rate and good weather in the north have probably meant that many people want to holiday in Nordland. She believes that Nordland County Council has taken several measures to meet the challenges. – We have increased the frequency of several connections and put in more ferries to take away the summer traffic. Then we sometimes see that the traffic is higher than we had imagined. We have started a comprehensive process to look at our tender processes, in order to be able to hit better next summer, both on traffic flow and on ferry equipment. The last ferry for the evening leaves Andøy, on its way across the Andfjord and bound for Senja in Troms. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news The last ferry leaves the quay Ferry Stetind from 1977 has a capacity of 49 cars and 200 passengers. And when it leaves the dock, dozens of cars remain. – We will stay here tonight, but we don’t have enough food so that is a problem, says French Philippe Lauret. While the French tourist has to seek out a grocery store, Morten Rognmo has to find another solution. – No, this was crazy. We thought we would come by ferry. Now we have to drive a bit back and find a place where we can pitch the tent. We would never have driven here if we had known that those we were not going to get a place on the ferry, he says. Published 26/07/2024, at 10.32
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– Can give Northern Norway a bad reputation – news Nordland
