![King seaways IJmuiden, December 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/King_seaways_IJmuiden%2C_December_2011.jpg)
DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across
northern Europe. Following the acquisition of
Norfolkline
Norfolkline was a European ferry operator and logistics company owned by Maersk. It provided freight ferry services on the English channel, Irish Sea, and the North Sea; and passenger ferry services on the English channel and Irish Sea; and l ...
in 2010,
DFDS
DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. It is the busiest shipping company of its kind in Northern Europe and one of the busiest in Europe. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literall ...
restructured its other shipping divisions (
DFDS Tor Line
The Tor Line was a freight shipping company. Together with its subsidiaries, the Tor Line operated a fleet of approximately 65 ro-ro, ro-pax and lo-lo ships, primarily on the North and Baltic Seas. It was ultimately purchased by Denmark-bas ...
and DFDS Lisco) into the previously passenger-only operation of DFDS Seaways.
History
DFDS Seaways renewed its fleet in 2006, purchasing
MS ''King of Scandinavia'' and
MS ''Princess of Norway'' to replace the last ships still in service that dated from the 1970s. The company has acquired a reputation for purchasing used ships, as well as for taking over the build contracts or taking delivery of newbuilds originally ordered by other companies. The last time DFDS Seaways ordered a newbuild of its own was in 1978. DFDS Seaways stopped serving
Sweden in 2006, when
MS ''Princess of Scandinavia'' was taken out of service and the
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
–
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
service stopped calling at
Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...
. In May 2008, DFDS made public its plan to close down the loss-making United Kingdom–Norway service on 1 September 2008.
MS ''Queen of Scandinavia'', the ship that was used in the service, has since been chartered to
St Peter Line
St. Peter Line is water transport company owned by Moby SPL Limited, a Maltese-registered shipping company, which operated services from Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Stockholm and Tallinn. The company was founded in 2010 with it starting operations ...
.
In July 2010, DFDS acquired
Norfolkline
Norfolkline was a European ferry operator and logistics company owned by Maersk. It provided freight ferry services on the English channel, Irish Sea, and the North Sea; and passenger ferry services on the English channel and Irish Sea; and l ...
from
Maersk
(), also known simply as Maersk (), is a Danish shipping company, active in ocean and inland freight transportation and associated services, such as supply chain management and port operation. Maersk was the largest container shipping line a ...
. The Norfolkline routes and vessels were integrated into DFDS Seaways. DFDS Seaways now had the
Dover–
Dunkirk route, and launched the new Dover–
Calais route in February 2012.
DFDS announced in 2015 that it had unveiled a new logo, which saw 'DFDS' in a new font, and the logo with the white
Maltese cross losing its outer circle; it announced furthermore that the DFDS Seaways subsidiary would be shortened to just 'DFDS' carrying a dark blue hull in the same font instead of the traditional light blue hull, and a Maltese cross with a circle. The first vessels to receive the new livery—and the new name scheme that would eventually be rolled out throughout the whole fleet—were the former
MyFerryLink
MyFerryLink was an English Channel passenger and freight ferry company which began operating between Dover and Calais in August 2012. The MyFerryLink fleet consisted of two modern ferries – sister ships the and the – that carried passen ...
ferries
Rodin (soon to become ''Cote des Dunes'') and the
Berlioz (soon to become the ''Cote des Flandres''). All the fleet were to lose the 'Seaways' suffix from their names, and would instead receive local preference names..
In 2018, DFDS ordered three RoPax newbuild vessels - one was an
E-Flexer on charter from
Stena RoRo which entered service as the ''Côte d'Opale'' in August 2021, and two RoPaxes for Baltic Sea operations. The first of the Baltic twins, named ''Aura Seaways'', was launched in late 2020, and had an inclination test in 2021. The sea trials took place in the middle of 2021. Now 2 new ferries "Aura Seaways" and " Luna Seaways" cruise Klaipėda - Karlshamn line.
Routes
DFDS Seaways operates twenty routes across the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
and
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
and one route between
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
Passenger and freight
*
Dover–
Calais
*
Dover–
Dunkirk
*
Dunkirk-
Rosslare
*
Newhaven–
Dieppe
Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...
*
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
–
IJmuiden
*
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
–
Frederikshavn
Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand.
The town ...
-
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
*
Klaipėda
Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...
–
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...
*
Klaipėda
Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...
–
Karlshamn
Karlshamn () is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden. It had 13,576 inhabitants in 2015, out of 31,846 in the municipality.
Karlshamn received a Royal Charter and city privileges in 1664, when King Charles ...
*
Paldiski
Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port situated on the Pakri Peninsula of northwestern Estonia. Since 2017, it's the administrative centre of Lääne-Harju Parish of Harju County. Previously a village of Estonia-Swedes known by the historical ...
–
Kapellskär
Kapellskär () is a port about north of Stockholm, in Sweden. It is located by the Baltic Sea, in Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County.
Services
The port is served by frequent passenger ferry services to Mariehamn, Åland, Finland, operated ...
Freight-only routes
*
Brevik–
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
*
Brevik–
Immingham
*
Cuxhaven
Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...
–
Immingham
*
Esbjerg
Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022) –
Immingham
*
Gothenburg–
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
*
Gothenburg–
Immingham
*
Gothenburg–
Tilbury
Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...
*
Gothenburg –
Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zee ...
*
Klaipėda
Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...
–
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
–
Fredericia
Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...
*
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
–
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
*
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
–
Ust-Luga
Ust-Luga (russian: Усть-Луга, lit. ''mouth of the Luga'', Votian: ''Laugasuu'', lit. ''mouth of the Luga'', fi, Laukaansuu) is a settlement and railway station in Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, near the Estonian border ...
–
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...
*
Sheerness–
Calais
*
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen () is a city in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality administers an area of , of which is land, with residents in .
Geog ...
–
Felixstowe
Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northea ...
*
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen () is a city in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality administers an area of , of which is land, with residents in .
Geog ...
–
Immingham
Fleet
DFDS Seaways operates a large fleet of
Ro-Ro
Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...
,
Ro-Pax
Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their o ...
and Cruise ferries. Following restructuring in 2010, all shipping activities (including those of
DFDS Tor Line
The Tor Line was a freight shipping company. Together with its subsidiaries, the Tor Line operated a fleet of approximately 65 ro-ro, ro-pax and lo-lo ships, primarily on the North and Baltic Seas. It was ultimately purchased by Denmark-bas ...
and DFDS Lisco) were rebranded as DFDS Seaways.
Current fleet
Future fleet
DFDS is scheduled to take delivery of a newbuild
E-Flexer class ferry, chartered from
Stena Line, in 2021.
DFDS had announced that it would add two new ships, the MS Moby Wonder and MS Moby Aki, to the
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
–
IJmuiden route in early 2020. The former ships, the
MS King Seaways
MS ''King Seaways'' is a cruiseferry operated and owned by the Danish shipping company DFDS Seaways on a route connecting North Shields, effectively the port of Newcastle upon Tyne, (being 6 miles to the east of the city), England to IJmuiden i ...
and
MS Princess Seaways
MS ''Princess Seaways'' is a cruiseferry operated and owned by the Danish shipping company DFDS Seaways on a route connecting North Shields, England, to IJmuiden in the Netherlands. She was built in 1986 as ''Peter Pan'' by Seebeckwerft, Bremerh ...
, would in turn have been sold to
Moby Lines
Moby Lines (Moby Lines S.p.A.) is an Italian shipping company that operates ferries and cruiseferries between the Italian or French mainland and the islands of Elba, Sardinia and Corsica. The company was founded in 1959 under the name Navigazio ...
. DFDS Seaways has since written in a statement that this deal would not go ahead and King and Princess Seaways would remain in their fleet.
Former ships
Accidents and incidents
''Victoria Seaways'' 2013 fire
On 23 April 2013, ''Victoria Seaways'' caught fire whilst on passage between
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Klaipeda in
Lithuania. The fire was discovered on the main vehicle deck at around midnight on the 22/23 April. The ship's fire-extinguishing system took control of the fire quickly, and passengers were sent to muster stations whilst the fire was put out. The ship continued to Klaipeda shortly after. The cause of the incident is unknown.
''Sirena Seaways'' 2013 dock collision
On 22 June 2013,
''Sirena Seaways'', with 489 passengers on board, collided with the dockside at
Harwich,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
. The incident caused damage to the dockside, the loading ramp and the ship, resulting in the vessel taking on water. The crew blocked the opening from inside and the watertight compartments were used to prevent the ship from capsizing. The Harwich RNLI lifeboat, Walton Coastguard rescue team and an RAF search and rescue helicopter from
Wattisham Airfield
Wattisham Airfield is an operational Army Airfield located next to the village of Wattisham in Suffolk, England. It is home to 3 Regiment Army Air Corps and 4 Regiment Army Air Corps. They are part of the Attack Helicopter Force (AHF) withi ...
responded to the incident, along with a number of other vessels nearby. The ferry was brought alongside at 14:45 and the passengers were disembarked. The cause of the collision is unknown.
''Britannia Seaways'' 2013 fire
On Saturday 16 November 2013, ''Britannia Seaways'' caught fire in the North Sea, trapping 32 crew on board. Helicopters despatched from Norway were unable to take the crew off the ship, owing to bad weather conditions. The fire began in a container on one of the upper decks, and was extinguished 13 hours after it broke out. The ship was carrying military equipment to Norway for a military exercise, and reached Bergen a few days later. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation.
''Corona Seaways'' 2013 fire
On 4 December 2013, at 02:30, ''
Corona Seaways'' caught fire whilst the vessel was travelling from Fredericia to Copenhagen. The fire broke out in the main closed deck, and was briefly under control with the ships sprinkler systems before flaring up again. The ship arrived at Helsingborg at 07.00, where the fire was extinguished by the local fire services. No injuries were reported amongst the 10 passengers and 19 crew members. The cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation.
''King Seaways'' 2013 fire
On 28 December 2013, a cabin aboard the ferry ''
King Seaways'' caught fire while it was approximately 30 miles off
Flamborough Head whilst travelling to
IJmuiden, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. The fire started at 22:45 GMT on Saturday and was extinguished within 15 minutes.
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
rescue helicopters from
RAF Boulmer
Royal Air Force Boulmer or RAF Boulmer is a Royal Air Force station near Alnwick in Northumberland, England, and is home to Aerospace Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) Force Command, Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) Boulmer.
The Schoo ...
and
RAF Leconfield
Royal Air Force Leconfield or more simply RAF Leconfield is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leconfield (near Beverley), East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
The site is now used by the MoD Defence School of Transport Leconfield or ...
winched two passengers and four crew off the ship. The vessel returned to
North Shields
North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth.
Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...
on Sunday morning. The cause is still under investigation however two people have been arrested in connection with the fire. One was subsequently charged with arson reckless to endangering life, and affray. On 8 July 2014 it was reported that one of them had pleaded guilty in Newcastle Crown Court to a charge of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
''Crown Seaways'' 2014 engine incident
On 27 April 2014, ''
Crown Seaways'' experienced engine problems near the Danish island of
Anholt, whilst travelling between
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
and
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
. It is reported that passengers heard a loud bang, a shudder and smoke at about 21:30, when the vessel suffered an engine failure and crank explosion. The ship soon continued on its way towards Oslo. The cause of the incident is unknown.
''Dover Seaways'' 2014 dock collision
On 10 November 2014,
''Dover Seaways'' collided with a harbour wall at the
Port of Dover, shortly after leaving the port at 08:00. The ship was heading to Dunkirk carrying 320 passengers. Several passengers were treated with minor injuries, and four were taken to hospital for additional treatment. The cause of the collision is unknown.
''City of Rotterdam'' / Primula 2015 collision
The ''City of Rotterdam'' car carrier collided with Primula Seaways in the
Humber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...
estuary in December 2015.
Closure of the Harwich - Esbjerg route
The Harwich - Esbjerg route was closed on 29 September 2014 due to a decline in passenger numbers. The Harwich - Esbjerg route had operated since 1875. This was the last service operated by DFDS from Harwich and was also the last passenger service between Great Britain and Denmark; DFDS continue to operate freight services from Immingham to Denmark. DFDS Seaways reported that
MS Sirena Seaways will move on other duties on the route between Kapellskar, Sweden and Paldiski, Estonia. A petition has been set up to attempt to show DFDS that there is a demand for the route.
References
Notes
Bibliography
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{{Scottish Ferry Operators
Ferry companies of Belgium
Ferry companies of Denmark
Ferry companies of England
Ferry companies of France
Ferry companies of Germany
Ferry companies of Lithuania
Ferry companies of the Netherlands
Ferry companies of Norway
Ferry companies of Russia
Ferry companies of Scotland
Ferry companies of Sweden
DFDS
Connections across the English Channel
fr:DFDS Seaways
nl:DFDS Seaways
sv:DFDS Seaways