Seafarers' Day Council honours Christian, Harald and Ludwig

Honoured on Sea Men's Day

Engineer Kristján Dýrfjörð, Captain Haraldur Benediktsson and Harbour Master Lúðvík Geirsson were honoured on this year's Sea Day for their work in the seafaring industry at the celebration held on Sunday. The Seamen's Day Council honoured the men, and Seamen's Day has been celebrated since 1938. Einar Ingi Reynisson from the Coast Guard honoured them and gave a speech. Get to know them better:

Haraldur Benediktsson

„Haraldur Benediktsson was born in Reykjavík on 31 October 1944. He was brought up by his foster parents, Benedikt Björnsson, a shopkeeper in Fáskrúðsfjörður, and Kristín Magnúsdóttir, a housewife and domestic servant at Hrafnista.

At the age of 17, Harald began his seafaring career on a 100-ton Swedish boat, the Ljósafelli from Fáskrúðsfjörður, in 1961.

He attended the Mates' School and completed the 2nd Class qualification in 1965. He later became mate of the Skálaberg from Seyðisfjörður.

The year 1973 was eventful for Harald in many ways.

• He was the second mate on the Gjafar VE and was in Westman Islands on the fateful night of the eruption on 23 January, where the crew ferried 440 people in a single trip to Þorlákshöfn. After that, the crew went on to fish for cod.
• Just over two weeks later, the crew took part in one of the most extensive searches in which Icelanders have been involved in the Atlantic Ocean. It was considered a miracle that no one perished during the search in the severe storm that raged for the ten days it lasted. The search was for the ten-man crew aboard the Seven Stars from Keflavík.
• On 22 February, the Gjafari was wrecked in a storm surge off Grindavík, and the crew fought for their lives. Haraldur was the first mate at the time but had often been at the helm as captain of the Gjafar and, due to the exceptional circumstances that had arisen, he took command and performed brilliantly, according to his shipmates, with all 12 being rescued.
• On 7 March, or two weeks after the stranding, Haraldur was tasked with fetching a new ship to Japan, the Ljósafell SU-70.

He subsequently served as captain or mate on various ships and boats, both those based in Hafnarfjörður and others throughout the country. Haraldur worked for a total of 51 years as a seaman, mate and captain. He spent the majority of that time as captain of the Jón Vídalín until 2011, and ended his seafaring career on his inshore fishing boat, Sæberg HF-112, in 2019.

Harald's wife is Brynja Halldórsdóttir, who has been a rock for him through thick and thin. They have 4 children and 7 grandchildren. 12 great-grandchildren,“ said Einar, adding:

„Haraldur Benediktsson,

On behalf of the Hafnarfjörður Sea Day, I would like to thank you.,

and it is a great honour for us to present you with a recognition for your decades of service at sea.

I wish you all the best and success for the years to come.“

Kristján Dýrfjörð

„Kristján Dýrfjörð was born in Siglufjörður on 10 February 1948. His parents were Hólm Dýrfjörð, a machinist/electrician in Hafnarfjörður, and Sigurrós Sigmundsdóttir, a housewife. At the age of 15, Kristján began his seafaring career in 1963 on the trawler Hafliði SI-002, which was formerly named Garðar Þorsteinsson GK 3. The ship had 1,000 horsepower with a triple-expansion steam engine and was then operated by Útgerðarfélagið Hrímfaxa og Sviða h/f in Hafnarfjörður.

• Kristján graduated from the Icelandic College of Engineering in 1969 and began working as a chief engineer on the Þór GK in 1968.
• He was mainly a chief engineer on ships and boats from Reykjavík between 1969 and 1973, from Þorlákshöfn between 1976 and 1979, and in Hornafjörður between 1979 and 1982.
• In 1983, Kristján undertook further studies at the School of Engineering and became the engineer on the 90-tonne trawler Þröstur HF 51 from 1982 to 1992. He was also the engineer on all three Lómur HF-177 vessels, which operated out of Hafnarfjörður between 1992 and 1997.

Kristján accompanied the purchase of Arney KE 050 when she was sold to Hornafjörður around the turn of the millennium and was there for a time. He ended his seafaring career on the trawler Halli Eggerts ÍS-197 in 2007 after 44 successful years at sea. Kristján has conscientiously ensured throughout his career that all his periods of service have been legally recorded in his logbooks, and the total is 9,422 days of legal service on 35 ships and boats. Kristján's wife was Sigríður Sigurðardóttir, who passed away in 1989. Kristján has one son and three grandchildren,“ said Einar, before congratulating him with these words:

„Kristján Dýrfjörð,

On behalf of the Hafnarfjörður Sea Day, I would like to thank you.,

and it is a great honour for us to present you with a recognition for your decades of service at sea.

I wish you all the best and success for the years to come.“

Ludwig Geirsson

As stated on the Althingi website, Ludvig Geirsson was born in Reykjavik on 21 April 1959. Parents: Geir Gunnarsson (born 12 April 1930, died 5 April 2008), Member of Parliament and Deputy State Conciliator, and Ásta Lúðvíksdóttir (born 9 April 1930, died 29 July 2012), a secondary school teacher. His spouse is Hanna Björk Lárusdóttir (born 2 November 1959), a former bank employee and now a housewife.

• Lúðvík passed the bakers' trade examination in 1978. He passed the Flensborg School leaving examination in 1978. He was awarded a BA in Icelandic and Literature from the University of Iceland in 1984.
• Journalist, teacher, writer, city councillor, consultant, along with numerous positions of responsibility, Mayor of Hafnarfjörður and Member of Parliament for the South-West constituency from 2011 to 2013.
• He has been the Harbour Master since 2016.

On Seafarers„ Day, Einar said: “Seafarers' Day in Hafnarfjörður would not be the same without the strong cooperation with the Port of Hafnarfjörður over many years. The Port has organised the preparations for the festival with the Seafarers' Day Committee and invited the town's residents on a pleasure cruise around the fjord. The harbourmaster has also assisted with the honouring of the seafarers for many years," he said.

„The Seamen's Day Council thanks Harbour Master Ludvík Geirsson, and his staff,

for good cooperation and assistance over the years and to give him an honorary award.“

Hafnarfjörður warmly congratulates the three of them.