A current containing the westernmost of Atlantic water inflow to the Nordic Seas, flowing northwards through the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland, and then turning eastwards around the northern tip of Iceland. The name indicates an origin in the Irminger Current which, as it flows northward through the Denmark Strait, splits into two branches. One branch turns west and then southwest to run parallel to the East Greenland Current. The other turns northeast and then east to become the North Icelandic Irminger Current. It feeds the North Icelandic shelf area with relatively warm, saline water which rapidly loses its Atlantic character (heat and salt) so that the percentage of Atlantic water is reduced to less than 30% by the northeastern corner of Iceland.