written in the stars

HB Grandi Newsletter
Issue 2
January 2015
From left: Björn, Kristján and Víðir
WRITTEN IN THE STARS
THAT THIS WOULD TURN OUT WELL
On the morning of December 5th, the freezer trawler Örfirisey RE sailed out of
Ísafjarðardjúp, having just returned to sea after being docked in Ísafjörður due to bad
weather. Chief mate Kristján Víðir Kristjánsson was heading towards his berth after a long
night shift when he collapsed in front of his shipmate in the ship’s coat room. He had had
a heart attack, which later led to cardiac arrest. The proper reactions of his shipmates
and the defibrillator on board saved Kristján’s life that day, as it took the Coast Guard’s
helicopter three hours to reach the site. The helicopter was being used by Civil Protection
at Bárðarbunga volcano when the call came. It would only have taken the helicopter an
hour to arrive if it had been stationed in Reykjavík.
Text: Björg Torfadóttir
HB Grandi owns three freezer trawlers, one of those
is Örfirisey RE 4 which fishes redfish, cod and saithe
as well as other species around the country. The
trawler fishes for a month at a time and has two
separate crews that take turns on each trip. Each
crew has 26 members. The trawler captains are
Trausti Egilsson og Símon Jónsson.
until he came down and saw Kristján lying
in Björn’s arms. “My first reaction was to
fetch the defibrillator, and when I returned,
Kristján was turning blue. We could not
detect any pulse, and in a few seconds he
had become dark blue.”
“The first thing you do at a time like this is
wonder if this is really happening. You just
can’t believe that this is happening right in
front of you,” says Víðir.
“The most stunning thing about this is how
quickly it all happened. We saw when he
began turning blue, but all of a sudden, he
was dark blue and had stopped breathing. It
was ugly,” says Björn.
Björn Bragi Sigmundsson is the second engineer on
Örfirisey, he has been working at sea for 47 years
and has worked for HB Grandi for about five years.
CORRECT
ACTIONS MADE
THE DIFFERENCE
A month later, I met with second engineer
Bragi Sigmundsson and second mate Víðir
Lárusson, both of whom had been instrumental in reviving Kristján. Víðir had just
completed an extensive training course
on treatment of the sick and injured at
sea and the handling of various diseases,
held by Landsbjörg, the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue. Bragi and Víðir
also credit the Safety and Survival Training
Scheme, whose continuing education is
mandatory for all on board every five years,
for how well the crew was able to handle
these difficult circumstances.
Björn says that he had not intended to be
on this shift, so it was a fortunate coincidence that he entered the coat room just
as Kristján did so. “He closed the door
behind him and sat down. I called to him,
asking if he was hanging up his clothes,
but there was no reply. I only heard heavy
sighs, and a moment later he was lying on
the bench. At first I thought that he was
playing a prank on me, but when I walked
over to him, I was met with a blank stare
and laboured breathing.”
Björn ran straight up to the mess deck
to call for help. Víðir, who was up on the
bridge when he heard the call, says that he
did not realise the severity of the situation
Víðir says that their actions at this point
were almost instinctive. They took Kristján off the bench, cut off his clothes and
prepared the defibrillator. While they waited
for the defibrillator to be ready, Víðir gave
Kristján mouth-to-mouth, followed by chest
compressions. After 2x30 compressions, the
defibrillator was ready.
“Using the defibrillator was almost like
having a doctor there. It speaks to you
in Icelandic and tells you what to do. We
thought for a few seconds that the machine
would give the shock automatically but
soon realised that this was not the case.
Björn was quick to push the button, and that
is when Kristján took his first breath. We
had the oxygen equipment ready, applied
it to him and pumped so he received 100%
oxygen. Then we waited for the helicopter.”
An hour after Kristján collapsed, he had
what seemed like muscle cramps all over
his body. At first, they thought that Kristján
was waking up, but this was not so. The only
thing they could do was place him on a
mattress, cover him with a blanket, monitor
the oxygen closely and hope that the
helicopter would arrive soon. Meanwhile,
Captain Trausti was communicating
constantly with a doctor and the Coast
Guard. Trausti was on the ship’s third level,
while Kristján lay unconscious on the first.
Víðir ran back and forth while they waited
to see how things were going.
“All the crew showed incredible strength.
Somehow, everyone played their part, no
one was in the way and every crew member
did their best. Everyone who could help was
willing to do anything,” says Björn.
“We had reached Önundarfjörður by the
time the helicopter arrived. These three
Víðir Lárusson is second mate on Örfirisey, he has
been working at sea for 28 years and has worked
for HB Grandi for about 20 years.
hours were very long,” adds Víðir pointedly.
“The wait to hear how he was doing was also
incredibly long. We didn’t know whether
he’d survived,” says Björn, who had not
strayed from Kristján’s side all this time.
Víðir and Björn say that criticism of the
Coast Guard is a chapter in itself, but
when the helicopter finally arrived, everything was handled in a highly professional
manner. The Coast Guard deserves praises
for that, although the situation is critical. It
is extremely stressful for sailors to be uncertain of whether a helicopter is available in
case of emergencies.
“This shows the importance of the Safety
and Survival Training Scheme. There’s always
someone who’s freshly trained. You have to
be prepared for everything, because accidents at sea can be very serious. There are
heavy objects out there that no man can stop.
That this should turn out so well is due to a
series of coincidences, such as Kristján going
into the coat room. Had he been alone on
the deck, no one would have seen him for
quite some time,” says Víðir.
“It was written in the stars that this would
turn out well. It was by complete chance
that we were in the right place at the right
time. If he had come in a few seconds later, I
would have been gone. This wasn’t supposed
to happen in any other way,” says Björn.
“It’s quite a relief to be able to look back
knowing that there were no mistakes made
on that fateful day,” says Víðir, “instead of
having to regret your choices for the rest of
your life.”
Kristján Víðir Kristjánsson is the first mate on
Örfirisey. He has worked for HB Grandi for 25 years.
THANKS HIS
SHIPMATES
Kristján appeared in a good mood when
I sat down with him in the beginning of
January. I was amazed how well he was,
only a few weeks after the heart attack. He
told me he was doing very well considering the circumstances, except for a lack of
energy and pain in the chest after the CPR.
We went over the events leading up to his
heart attack and it’s aftermath.
Kristján had been alone on the bridge for
most of the night and was returning from
his shift at around eleven in the morning
when he decided to tie some fish together
and hang them behind the bridge. He says
that this was probably what caused the
heart attack, as carrying 30 kilos of fish up
to the bridge had put too much strain on
his heart. Kristján says that he was feeling
faint as he entered the coat room. Björn,
the engineer, who was on his way to have
some coffee, walked through and greeted
Kristján, who could not utter anything in
reply. He says that it was a stroke of luck
that Björn was passing through just as he
was having his heart attack.
not receive enough oxygen, but he seems
to have escaped unscathed. He thanks his
shipmates for responding so properly and
definitely, commending them for their feat.
“I did not regain consciousness until I was
on the way to Reykjavík in the helicopter,
and then only for a brief moment. The next
thing I knew, I had undergone cardiac catheterisation,” says Kristján. Upon his arrival
in Reykjavík, he was cooled down and kept
unconscious for two days.
He says that waiting for the helicopter took
a considerable toll on the crew, as waiting
for over three hours with a seemingly dying
man was no joke.
“When I awoke, I had all kinds of tubes and
whatnot tied to me and had no idea where I
was or what had happened to me. I became
raging mad, called my wife and asked what
experiments were being conducted on me!
I didn’t remember tying the fish together,
let alone what happened afterwards.”
Kristján has recovered remarkably well, and
all test results have been positive. There is
a great risk of damage if the heart does
The heart attack came as a surprise to
Kristján, who says that he had felt no aches
up until then. Two days before, however,
he had felt something that felt like a
slight stitch, but brushed it aside. “I had
just undergone a medical examination at
HB Grandi, but the only thing that came
out of it was that my blood pressure was
rather high. It has always been rather high
but nothing more than that. I did not think
anything of this slight pain I felt, so this
caught me completely by surprise.”
“With arteries as blocked as mine turned
out to be, I could have had another stroke
at any point while the helicopter was on
its way, so my life was in great danger the
whole time. It is extremely stressful for
us as sailors to be uncertain of whether a
helicopter is available, or as Captain Trausti
said, “It’s comparable to the ambulances in
Reykjavík doubling as taxis and having to
finish dropping passengers off before being
able to tend to emergencies.”
FOCUS ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
On November 1st, HB Grandi and its subsidiaries formally introduced a Transport Policy. Its
aim is to encourage the company’s staff to use environmentally friendly, efficient and healthy
transportation. The aim is to show social responsibility and set a good example by increasing
the awareness of their employees about sustainable transportation. In addition, the company
wants to improve the environment and the health of their employees and others.
Employees are encouraged to sign the Transport Agreement if they are willing to use environmentally friendly modes of transportation, such as walk, bike, run or use public transport
to and from work at least three days a week.
photo: www.heartsine.com
HEART DEFIBRILLATOR
The defibrillator that Kristjáns shipmates
used in the resuscitation is one of the
reason he is still alive today. The device is
available on all ships and will soon be in all
HB Grandi processing plants.
JOY IN DECEMBER
FESTIVE CHRISTMAS CONSERT
Reykjavík
Vopnafjörður
photo: Magnús Þór Róbertsson
HB Grandi invited its employees living
in Reykjavík and Akranes to a Christmas
concert with Sigga Beinteins in December. Well known vocalists and musicians
like Garðar Thor Cortes, Diddú and Guðrún
Gunnarsdóttir performed with Sigga. Every
seat in the Norðurljós hall in Harpa was
filled and it is fair to say that everyone left
in a wonderful christmas mood.
CHRISTMAS DANCE AT NORÐURGARÐUR
Akranes
photo: Björg Torfadóttir
The annual Christmas dance was held by the Employee Association in the cafeteria in Norðurgarður between Christmas and New Year. As usual children and their parents sang and danced
around the Christmas tree. Two Icelandic Yulelads, Hurðaskellir and Stekkjastaur, surprised the
children when they appeared on the roof with bags of goodies for everyone.
CHRISTMAS FEASTS
Every year, HB Grandi invites its entire
workforce for a Christmas lunch. Smoked
lamb, smoked rack of pork, roast and
herring dishes were on offer in each location and young people from each locality provided the accompanying musical
entertainment.
ÞÚFA HB GRANDI NEWSLETTER
Guarantor: Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson
Editor: Björg Torfadóttir
Design/layout: Fanney Þórðardóttir
Photos: Kristján Maack
Printed by: Litlaprent
E-mail: frettabref@hbgrandi.is
photo: Jón Páll Gestsson