The Rosyth – Zeebrugge ferry service was a freight-only service operated by

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 (litera ...

. The service replaced a passenger and freight service that was initially operated by

Superfast Ferries Superfast Ferries is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1993 by Pericles Panagopulos and Alexander Panagopulos. Superfast Ferries is a member of Attica Group and operates 3 car-passenger ferries, offering daily connections between Anc ...

between May 2002 and September 2008, and then by

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 18 May 2009 until 15 December 2010. It was the only direct ferry route between

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

. On 20 August 2010 it was announced that the passenger service would end on 15 December 2010, although the freight-only service resumed shortly thereafter. The service was terminated in 2018 following a fire aboard one of the ships. In 2022, it was announced that the Scotland to mainland Europe ferry link would return in 2023 for freight services. A further study was being carried out regarding future passenger business.

Route

The route crossed the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

between

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

, Scotland and

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 ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. Near Rosyth, the ferry passed under the

Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

Superfast Ferries

Following a detailed consultation and tendering process by the Scottish Executive, the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

shipping company

(owned by the

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean ...

Group) were confirmed as the operator of the route. Services commenced in May 2002 using two ships - '' MS Superfast IX'' and '' MS Superfast X'' - to provide an overnight service with a crossing time of 17 hours. Whilst car traffic, particularly in the summer months, proved relatively good, concern mounted that there were insufficient

lorries A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

and other freight traffic to make the service viable in the long term. The service was reduced to three times per week in 2005 and Superfast IX transferred to the

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 from ...

. In 2006, the sale of ''Superfast X'' was announced and the vessel was replaced with the smaller ''Blue Star I'' - of Superfast's sister company

Blue Star Ferries Blue Star Ferries is a brand name of Blue Star Maritime S.A. The company operates ferry services from the Greek mainland to the Aegean Islands. Blue Star Ferries is the biggest ferry company in Greece, serving more than 20 destinations. Their fl ...

(also owned by Attica). In 2008 it was announced that Superfast/Blue Star Ferries would discontinue the service in September.

Norfolkline

The decision to axe the route caused considerable political disquiet in Scotland. The Scottish Government sought to encourage a new operator to take over the route. In late 2008

announced that it would restart the route in May 2009, again using a thrice-weekly overnight service (but extended to 20 hours, rather than the previous 17 hours, to reduce fuel consumption). Like Superfast, the Norfolkline service offered a service for both vehicle and foot passengers. Norfolkline is a

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 ...

-based subsidiary of the Danish shipping company

and formerly of the Maersk Group. On 17 December 2009 DFDS announced that it had agreed to purchase Norfolkline from Maersk. Norfolkline's vessel for the route was the ''MV Scottish Viking'' (which, despite the name, is registered in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

). On 5 August 2010 the vessel collided with a small fishing boat off the coast of Scotland, resulting in the loss of the fishing boat and the death of one of the two men aboard the fishing boat.

DFDS Seaways

On 20 August 2010 DFDS announced that the passenger service would end on 15 December 2010, with the service being replaced by a DFDS Seaways freight-only ferry service. The replacement freight-only service was operated with two ferries the Tor Finlandia and the Cimbria Seaways with 4 departures per week. In April 2011, this was reduced to one DFDS Seaways freight-only ferry operating three departures per week. In August 2014, concerns were raised over the future of the Rosyth - Zeebrugge link. Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between DFDS Seaways, The Scottish Government and Forth Ports Authority, the scheduled services were set to continue. Enhanced freight capacity would be made possible by infrastructure improvements at Rosyth allowing containers to be double stacked. Following an engine room fire on Finlandia Seaways on Monday 16 April 2018. DFDS Seaways announced on 23 April 2018 that the route from Rosyth to Zeebrugge would close with immediate effect as it was not economically viable.

External links

Norfolkline: Rosyth - Zeebrugge routeBBC news report of first crossings by NorfolklineScottish Government press release on the reopening of the ferry service, May 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosyth - Zeebrugge ferry service Ferry transport in Scotland Ferry transport in Belgium North Sea 2009 in Scotland 2009 in Belgium 2009 in transport 2009 introductions Zeebrugge Rosyth