MS Thorbjørn

MS Thorbjørn at the ferry landing
History
Name: Thorbjørn
Namesake: Thorbjørn Jagland
Owner: AUF
Port of registry: Norway
Ordered: 1948
Builder: Oskarshamn Shipyard
General characteristics
Class and type: Rebuilt L50 landing craft
Displacement: 31 ton[1]
Length: 17.18 m (56.4 ft)
Beam: 4.8 m (16 ft)
Depth: 1.15 m (3.8 ft)
Capacity: 50 passengers
Crew: 2

MS Thorbjørn (call sign LILU) is a vessel owned by AUF. During AUFs annual summer camp on the island of Utøya, the vessel shuttles the participants between Utøya and Utøykaia on the mainland. The vessel was built at Oskarshamn Shipyard in 1948. It was previously called Rasmus and was bought by AUF in 1997 for SEK 250,000 (approx. US$37,000 in April 1997). It was later renamed Thorbjørn after Thorbjørn Jagland, a former AUF leader who later became Prime Minister of Norway. The ferry is certified for 50 passengers and can carry small vehicles.[2]

History

Before the vessel was converted into a civilian passenger ferry, it was a military landing craft of the L-50-type. These landing crafts were used by the Swedish Navy and the Swedish coastal artillery from the 1950s to the 1980s. The L50-boats were used by Coastal Rangers for fast landing of personnel under fire.

2011 Norway attacks

Main article: 2011 Norway attacks

In July 2011 MS Thorbjørn was used by Anders Behring Breivik to reach Utøya before his attack on the AUF summer camp. A few minutes after the first shots were fired, the vessel left the island with only nine people on board. Fearing that there might be more terrorists in the area, they took the ferry 2.7 kilometres (1.5 nmi; 1.7 mi) north to Skoglund.[3] Hence the ferry was not available to the police when they arrived at Utøykaia, the normal ferry landing on mainland.[2]

The vessel was used in the rescue work shortly after the shooter was arrested. The captain of the ferry was transporting the police and rescue workers to Utøya and campers from Utøya to the mainland throughout the night.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Sjötransport med Kustartilleriets fartyg och båtar (Swedish)
  2. 1 2 "This happened on MS "Thorbjørn" (Norwegian)". Aftenposten. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
  3. ↑ "Google maps, Skoglund". Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Utøya ferry's role now under probe". Views and News from Norway. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
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