m/s TEATERSKEPPET
The ship's history
It is hard to imagine that Teaterskeppet was originally built for a completely different purpose than the one it serves today.
In 1959, three fishing trawlers were built at a shipyard in Estoril, Portugal, commissioned by various fishing village associations in the Faroe Islands. One of these vessels, m/v Vágabíngur, was delivered to the Hvørjum landsstýri (fishing village association) in the village of Vágur.
Over the next 20 years, the vessel sailed across much of the Northern Hemisphere—working waters off Greenland and Northern Canada, and even as far south as Brazil. The crew, numbering nearly 60 men, worked in shifts around the clock, fishing continuously and spending 3–4 weeks at sea at a time. At Christmas and Midsummer, they were granted a single week of leave—before heading back out to sea again. The area that today houses the conference hall was then the cargo hold, and where the main dining room is now located was the open working deck where the trawl was hauled in.
In 1974, the vessel was sold to Norway and served under the name Björnøy II with the Norwegian Coast Guard, before ending up in Gothenburg in 1978, where she was converted into a hostel.
In 1982, the ship was sold to Rederi AB Sommar & Sol, which towed her to Stockholm and began the transformation into a passenger vessel.
In 1988, M/S Teaterskeppet premiered as a charter vessel in Stockholm (not to be confused with Teaterbåten, which was moored in Nybroviken).
In 1997, the vessel underwent a major rebuild in Stockholm, giving Teaterskeppet its current appearance—with the bridge moved forward and the large sun deck added above the dining room.
In 2000, the ship was acquired by M/S Teaterskeppet AB, which refined and focused the operation exclusively on the corporate events market.
A very special thank you to Bernhard Edin, who worked as an engine room crew member on board for seven years and has generously shared invaluable photographs and stories with us.
