Weiße Flotte (Stralsund)
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The Weiße Flotte ("White Fleet") is a
shipping company A shipping line or shipping company is a company whose line of business is ownership and operation of ships. Shipping companies provide a method of distinguishing ships by different kinds of cargo: # Bulk cargo is a type of special cargo that is ...
with its head office in Stralsund, Germany, that offers passenger and car ferry services as well as excursions by boat, especially along 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 ...
coast of the state of
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...
.


History

In 1945, after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, shipping by private shipowners initially picked up again on a moderate scale under the direction of the ''Arbeitsgemeinschaft Binnenschiffahrt Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts'' with its head office in Berlin. On 27 October 1949 the state-owned firm of ''Deutsche Schiffahrts- und Umschlagsbetriebs-Zentrale'' (DSU) was established with its main branch in Stralsund. All the freight and passenger transport on the inland waterways of
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
was transferred to this company. Founded on 1 January 1957, the VEB passenger shipping company in Stralsund, ''Weiße Flotte'', with its head office in Stralsund took over the overwhelming majority of excursion and scheduled services along the entire Baltic Sea coast. This company initially had just eleven staff and another 17 employees as well as 10 motor vessels, with a total seating of 1,511, in its first year of operations. Over the years, branches were set up along the Baltic coast, the ships were modernized and the number of staff increased. Amongst the services operated at that time were
excursion An excursion is a trip by a group of people, usually made for leisure, education, or physical purposes. It is often an adjunct to a longer journey or visit to a place, sometimes for other (typically work-related) purposes. Public transportatio ...
s were to
Gedser Gedser is a town at the southern tip of the Danish island of Falster in the Guldborgsund Municipality in Sjælland region. It is the southernmost town in Denmark, and also the southernmost point of Scandinavia and the Nordic countries. The town ...
,
Fehmarn Fehmarn (, da, Femern; from Old Wagrian Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, after Rüg ...
and Møn, round trips around
Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...
and
Hiddensee Hiddensee () is a car-free island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Germany's largest island, Rügen, on the German coast. The island has about 1,000 inhabitants. It was a holiday destination for East German tourists during German Democratic ...
, ocean crossings and harbour cruises. After extensive renovations to the ships of the "White Fleet" in 1958/59 and the addition of a ferry service to
Altefähr Altefähr is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Transport * Altefähr railway station is served by local services between Rostock, Stralsund and Sassnitz Sassnitz (, before 1993 in german: ...
, e.g. with the ''Stralsunder'', the number of ships at the beginning of 1959 increased to 17 vessels with a total of 2,488 seats. Three years later, the fleet of passenger ships rose to 23 through the acquisition of the ''Genossenschaftsreederei Hiddensee'' of
Vitte Raymond Vitte (1949–1983) was an American actor who starred mostly in comedy and drama films in the 1970s and early 1980s. He made numerous guest appearances on television shows and was a cast member of the show ''Doc'' in 1976. Vitte, who ha ...
. Now a total of 3,251 seats were available. In 1961 two hydrofoils, the TF 10-1 and TF 10-2 joined the ''Weiße Flotte'' from Roßlau, and were assigned to services between
Warnemünde (, literally ''Mouth of the Warnow'') is a seaside resort and a district of the city of Rostock in Mecklenburg, Germany. It is located on the Baltic Sea and, as the name implies, at the estuary of the river Warnow. is one of the world's busi ...
and
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...
-Kabutzenhof. By the end of 1963, the ''Weiße Flotte'' employed 36 passenger ships with 4,740 seats and two freighters were employed on a total of 44 scheduled services. In 1974, the ''Weiße Flotte'' was further modernized with the purchase of three hydrofoils of the Kometa-M type. The boats, which had been built in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
at the shipyard of Poti (Georgian SSR), were selected for fast services on the Stralsund -
Sassnitz Sassnitz (, before 1993 in german: Saßnitz) is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2012 was 9,498. Sassnitz is a well-known seaside resort and port town, a ...
- Szczecin or Rostock -
Wismar Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...
lines. With a speed of 32 knots (60 km/h), these boats needed only about four hours, for example, for the route from Stralsund via Sassnitz to Swinoujscie and were thus much faster than the
cruise liner Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "sho ...
s. With a fleet of three hydrofoils, 31 passenger ships, seven ferries, two freighters and a ferry unit (''Fährschubeinheit'') for heavy goods vehicles, the ''Weiße Flotte'' transported 4.7 million passengers on 85 routes in 1989. In 1990 the ''Weiße Flotte'' was privatized and taken over by the shipping association of ''Förde Reederei Seetouristik'' from Flensburg. The traditional name of ''Weiße Flotte'' remained unchanged. All the old ships were sold and replaced with new, more modern and more comfortable ships. The president of the district council of
Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...
, Gesine Skrepski, opened a new jetty for the
Wittow Ferry The Wittow Ferry (german: Wittower Fähre) is a ferry service for foot passengers and vehicles (up to a total weight of 30 t each) from the heart of the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen, the Muttland, to the peninsula of Wittow to the no ...
in 1994. In 1995, the ''Reederei Hiddensee'', a subsidiary of the ''Weiße Flotte'', was founded. The ''Reederei Hiddensee'' operates all the regular services from
Zingst Zingst ( Polabian ''Sgoni'') is the easternmost portion of the three-part Fischland-Darß-Zingst Peninsula, located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, between the cities of Rostock and Stralsund on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea. T ...
, Wiek, Stralsund and
Schaprode Schaprode is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe ...
to the island of
Hiddensee Hiddensee () is a car-free island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Germany's largest island, Rügen, on the German coast. The island has about 1,000 inhabitants. It was a holiday destination for East German tourists during German Democratic ...
. Through the establishment of ''Reederei Hiddensee'' the area of operations of the ''Weiße Flotte'' expanded to include ferry services (Glewitz - Stahlbrode, Warnemünde - Hohe Düne, Wittow Nord - Wittow-Süd) and excursions on the Baltic Sea.


Ships/routes

The ''Weiße Flotte'' runs several car and passenger ferries along the Baltic Sea coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.


Car ferries

* Car ferry: Warnemünde - Hohe Düne : The two ferries, the ''Breitling'' and the ''Warnow'', that shuttle between the Baltic Sea resort of Warnemünde and the village of Hohe Düne, were built in 1994 and 1995 at the ''Oderwerft Eisenhüttenstadt'' shipyard on the Oder. The technical data for the 2 ships are identical. They have a length of 38 metres and a beam of 11.60 metres. They can seat 150 passengers and carry 25 cars. The engines generate 3 x 186 kW, and the boats can travel at up to 7.5 knots. *Car ferry: Stahlbrode - Glewitz : Three car ferries ply the route between Stahlbrode and Glewitz ( Bay of Greifswald), the ''Glewitz'', the ''Stahlbrode'' and the ''Stralsund''. The ''Glewitz'' and ''Stahlbrode'' were built in 1965 at the Varvet shipyard in Sweden. They have a length of 58.30 m and a width of 12.20 m, and can carry 300 passengers and 45 cars. With an engine power of 3 x 110 kW, they can reach a speed of 7 knots. The ''Stralsund'', also built on the Varvet yard in 1963, is 41 metres long and 11.40 metres wide. It has room for 50 passengers and 30 vehicles. The two engines each have a capacity of 144 kW. The ship can reach a speed of 7 knots *Car ferry: Wittow Nord - Wittow Süd : The route to Rügen, known as the Wittow Ferry, is worked by a ferry called the
Wittow Wittow is the northernmost peninsula of the island of Rügen. Wittow was a separate island until the High Middle Ages, but since then has been connected to the Jasmund peninsula of Rügen by the Schaabe spit. Wittow is most famous for Cape Ark ...
. The ferry was built in 1996 on the Oder shipyard of Eisenhüttenstadt. It has a length of 38 metres and a width of 12 metres and can carry 150 passengers and 45 cars. The engines produce a power of 3 x 186 kW, so the ferry can attain a speed of 7.5 knots.


Passenger ferries

*Passenger ferry: Stralsund - Altefähr : The passenger ferry ''Altefähr'' was built in 1996 at the shipyard of WBG Berlin. It has a length of 21.50 m and a width of 5.50 m and can seat 225 passengers. With an engine output of 187 kW the ferry can attain a speed of 11 knots. : The ferry offers harbour cruises in Stralsund.


External links


Weiße Flotte

Der Warnemünder

''Reederei Hiddensee'' subsidiary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weisse Flotte (Stralsund) Baltic Sea Shipping companies of Germany Water transport in East Germany Transport in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Vorpommern-Rügen Stralsund Hiddensee Companies of East Germany