The ferry is operated by the national transport company Strandfaraskip Landsins and uses the vessel Smyril (passengers and cargo) taking two hours and five minutes each way.
[4] The frequency is either twice or three times per day, though the service is frequently cancelled in winter due to adverse weather and heavy seas, since the Suðuroyarfjørður strait is exposed to swell and strong tidal currents (with overfalls in places), and funnels northwesterlies.
The Suðuroyartunnilin would form a structural, direct link between Sandoy and Suðuroy - the two southern sýslur (districts) - for the first time in decades.
Currently they are only marginally linked via a twice-weekly helicopter service, running the route Tórshavn-Skúvoy-Stóra Dímun-Froðba, which does not call at Sandoy itself.
[11] The calls for a fixed link to Suðuroy emerged after the success of the two earliest sub-sea tunnels in the Faroe Islands, the Vágatunnilin and Norðoyatunnilin in 2002 and 2006 respectively.
The project was given more attention in the National Transport Plan 2012-2024, estimating an investment of 8 billion DKK for a 22.5 km tunnel from Dalur to Sandvík, but again without concrete ambitions.
The scenario study lists the following options: The total investment cost of a tunnel, excluding connecting roads would range from 3.6 to 5.4 billion DKK, corresponding roughly to one-quarter of the Faroese gross national income.
[25] In November 2022, the Faroese government agreed to go ahead with the project by establishing a limited company (p/F Suðuroyartunnilin) as a fund for budget deposits and later pay the contractor.
[28] However, public company enterprises are part of the Prime Minister's responsibility, who referred to the coalition agreement, which does not state a start and end date.
In the meantime, the ferry MS Smyril may dock in Sandur instead of Tórshavn, and sail to Hvalba, as was expressed as a possibility by Strandfaraskip Landsins in 2023.