The final voyage of the Sigurður Gísli by Gerry van Roosmalen

On the black sands of Landeyjarsandur lies the wreck of the Sigurður Gísli VE 127. What is now little more than a wooden skeleton was once a seaworthy fishing vessel.

The Sigurður Gísli was built in 1946 in Skredsvik, Sweden, from oak. The ship weighed nearly one hundred tonnes and was originally named Sigurður SI 90. Its first owner was Sædís h/f from Siglufjörður. In 1967, the ship’s ownership changed. It was sold to Sigurður Gísli Bjarnason in Vestmannaeyjar and given the name by which it is still known today: Sigurður Gísli VE 127.

For many years, the ship operated out of the Westman Islands. In 1974, disaster struck. During a voyage from the islands, whilst carrying cement and timber, amongst other things, a fire broke out on board. The crew were forced to abandon ship.

After the fire, the Sigurður Gísli was beyond saving. The ship was towed to the coast and beached at Bakki, on Landeyjarsandur. It was not a ship that had been thrown onto the sand by a storm. It was left here after it had been lost in the fire. On 29 November 1974, it was officially struck off the ship register.

Since then, the coast has taken over. The black sand has slowly buried and then uncovered the hull, whilst wind and water have continued to erode the wood. All that remains of the ship that once sailed between Siglufjörður, the Vestmannaeyjar and the open sea is now just the skeleton.

There, on the black beach of Landeyjarsandur, its journey came to an end.