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Say the name Hanus Hansen. Then most people in the Faroe Islands will know the fishing matador.

He is one of the small archipelago's most powerful men, and has many irons in the fire within the fishing industry in and outside the Faroe Islands, including Greenland.

As CEO and main shareholder, Hanus Hansen holds power in the large Faroese fishing group PF JFK in Klaksvig.

He is also chairman of the Faroese Shipowners' Association, and is a strong man in the Faroese business community, where the mainstay is fishing.

In the Faroe Islands, JFK is active in all fishing of pelagic and demersal fish. In addition, the group has the largest share of the Faroese quotas in the Norwegian and Russian areas of the Barents Sea, where JFK has traditionally had a significant fishery.

Long history in Greenland

In Greenland, where Hanus Hansen and JFK have been active for about two decades, the Faroese group is a co-owner of Malik Seafood, based in the Nuuk suburb of Nuussuaq. Here he serves as chairman of the board.

- Hanus has never hidden that he is very interested in Greenland, and JFK has a long history of fishing of various kinds in Greenland over several decades, says an anonymous source to Sermitsiaq.

It was also the Faroese fishing tycoon group that from 2007-2014 was co-owner of the shipping company and fishing company Arctic Prime Fisheries (APF) in Qaqortoq.

In 2007, he and JFK, together with Kim Høegh-Dam, helped start Arctic Prime Fisheries with its associated companies. Høegh-Dam is also known for being behind the small shipping company Iluliaq Seafood, which went bankrupt in 2022.

The partly Faroese-owned Malik Seafood ApS is co-owner of the shipping company Arsuk Food ApS, which Naalakkersuisut in December last year awarded valuable cod quotas off West Greenland that can be fished this year (2,000 tons of seagoing quotas compared to 1,400 tons last year, ed.).

According to the Central Commercial Register, the CVR register, Malik Seafood Aps has two shareholders. JFK owns one third of the company, while Ragnhild í Skorini, who is from the Faroe Islands, owns the rest. She lives in Nuussuaq.

The companies Malik Seafood and Arsuk Food both have addresses in the Nuuk suburb of Nuussuaq.

In addition to JFK and Ragnhild í Skorini, Arsuk Food's ownership group consists of approximately 40 shareholders, who own over 40 percent of the company. These shareholders are based in Arsuk.

- We hope to continue to be able to contribute to the company's development, writes Hanus Hansen in an email. When the company received a quota of 500 tons, it was necessary for the company to acquire a ship, and we sold a ship from the Faroe Islands to the company and provided seller financing for the ship, as it was not possible to obtain any other ship and financing at such short notice.

- We have lent the company money at a normal market rate. Therefore, we have a mortgage on the ship, but hope that the company can obtain external financing.

- It is our impression that our ownership has been positively perceived, and that we have contributed to the operation of Arsuk. Ragnhild and her husband Marcus have also been residents of Greenland for 19 years and have both children and grandchildren in Greenland and are fully integrated into Greenlandic society.

Started fishing as a teenager

As a teenager, Hanus Hansen fished for mackerel sharks off Canadian New Foundland. He is a trained captain and was skipper for many years on trawlers for large Faroese shipping companies that fished in the Barents Sea.

In 1996, Hanus Hansen became director of the shipping company JFK in Klaksvig, the fishing capital of the Faroes. But his position of power and business career as a shipowner began in earnest when he bought the majority shareholding in the shipping company JFK from a public fund.

In 2005, according to the Faroese internet media, Frihedsbrevet.fo's journalist Jan Lamhauge, the Faroese public was shocked when it emerged in the press that Hanus Hansen had bought the majority shareholding in JFK overnight. This happened without the sale having been publicly announced before.

An old acquaintance in Greenland

With Hanus Hansen at the helm, JFK owns just under 20 percent of Arsuk Food via Malik Seafood. According to the CVR, the Faroese Ragnhild í Skoirini, who lives in the Nuuk suburb of Nuusssuaq, is the main owner of Malik Seafood, while JFK owns the rest. Her husband, Marcus Jacobsen, from Hanus Hansen's hometown of Klaksvík, is the director of Arsuk Food.

In 2025, Arsuk Food fished with the longliner named Arsugaq. Last year, the vessel was reflagged from the Faroe Islands, where the longliner was named Kvikk. Arsuk Food now owns the boat. Incidentally, it was JKF that sold the vessel to Arsuk Food.

According to Skibsbladet, JFK still has a full lien on the longliner.

Skibsbladet is a public register with comprehensive information on ships sailing under the Danish, Faroese and Greenlandic flags. The register contains, among other things, information on ship ownership and mortgages.

Faroese sold to Icelanders

In Greenland, the laws on foreign ownership in fishing companies are similar to the Faroese laws, where foreigners can only own a maximum of one-third of a company.

The Greenlandic APF Group has been headquartered in Qaqortoq since its inception, with Faroese Hentzar Petersen as CEO.

In 2014, the Faroese JFK sold its third of the shares in the APF Group to an Icelandic family business, Linuskip ehf. The company belongs to Brim, headed by fishing king Gudmundur Kristjánsson.

Just as in the APF constellation, where Hanus Hansen was chairman of the board and Faroese Hentzar Petersen was director, Faroese Hanus Hansen is now chairman of the board of Malik Seafood, while Faroese Ragnhild Í Skorini is director.

- Greenland has always had a great interest for me and I have been involved in fishing in Greenland for many years. Our involvement in Greenland has always been in accordance with the legislation that Greenland has and is in force in Greenland, says Hanus Hansen to Sermitsiaq.

The longline boat Arsugaq

Arsuk Food, of which Malik Seafood owns a good half, has been fishing with the longline boat named Arsugaq in 2025. Last year, the vessel was flagged from the Faroe Islands, where the longline boat was named Kvikk. Arsuk Food is now the owner of the boat. Incidentally, it was JKF that sold the vessel to Arsuk Food.

Arsuk Food ApS has been fishing with the longline boat Arsugaq since spring last year, which has moved from Klaksvik to Greenland. Arsuk Food bought boats from JFK. According to Skibsbladet, JFK still has a full mortgage in

Skibsbladet is a public register with extensive information on ships sailing under the Danish, Faroese and Greenlandic flags. The register includes, among other things, information on ship ownership and mortgages.