MS ''Thorbjørn'' (call sign LILU) is a vessel owned by AUF. During AUFs annual summer camp on the island of

Utøya Utøya () is an island in the Tyrifjorden lake in Hole municipality, in the county of Buskerud, Norway. The island is , situated off the shore, by the E16 road, about driving distance south of Hønefoss, and northwest of Oslo city centre. ...

, the vessel shuttles the participants between Utøya and Utøykaia on the mainland. The vessel was built at

Oskarshamn Shipyard Oskarshamn Shipyard is a shipbuilding and repair facility located in Oskarshamn, Sweden. General information The shipyard company was established in 1863, when a dry dock was built in Oskarshamn. About 540 vessels have been built and launched at ...

in 1948. It was previously called ''Rasmus'' and was bought by AUF in 1997 for (approx. in April 1997). It was later renamed ''Thorbjørn'' after

Thorbjørn Jagland Thorbjørn Jagland ( né Johansen; , 5 November 1950) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He served as the secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019. He served as the prime minister of Norway from 1996 to 1997, a ...

, a former AUF leader who later became

Prime Minister of Norway The prime minister of Norway (, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet of Norway, Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government departme ...

. The ferry is certified for 50 passengers and can carry small vehicles.

History

Before the vessel was converted into a civilian passenger ferry, it was a military

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

of the L-50-type. These landing crafts were used by the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

and the

Swedish Coastal Artillery The Swedish Coastal Artillery () has its origin in the Archipelago Artillery that was raised in 1866. The Coastal Artillery was formed from the Archipelago Artillery, the Marine Regiment and parts of the Artillery in 1902. Kustartilleriet, abbr ...

from the 1950s to the 1980s. The L50-boats were used by Coastal Rangers for fast landing of personnel under fire.

2011 Norway attacks

In July 2011 MS ''Thorbjørn'' was used by

Anders Behring Breivik Anders Behring Breivik (; born 13 February 1979), officially named Fjotolf Hansen from 2017 to 2025, and Far Skaldigrimmr Rauskjoldr av Northriki since March 2025, is a Norwegian neo-Nazi terrorist and mass murderer. He carried out the 2011 No ...

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 north to Skoglund. Hence the ferry was not available to the police when they arrived at Utøykaia, the normal ferry landing on mainland. The vessel was used in the rescue work shortly after the shooter was arrested. The captain of the ferry, Jon Olson, was transporting the police and rescue workers to Utøya and campers from Utøya to the mainland throughout the night.

Gallery

File:MS Thorbjørn.png, Port side File:MS Thorbjørn sett forfra.png, Bow File:MS Thorbjørn høyre side.jpg, Starboard side File:Vinsj i baugen.png, Before and after

References

External links

Norwegian Ship Register
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorbjorn, MV 2011 Norway attacks 1948 ships Ships built in Oskarshamn Ferries of Norway Merchant ships of Norway Naval ships of Sweden Landing craft