Bastø Fosen AS 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 ...

that operates the Moss–Horten Ferry, the most trafficked ferry route in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The company, which operates three ferries MF ''Bastø I'', MF ''Bastø II'' and MF ''Bastø III'', carried 1.3 million cars and 2.5 million passengers in 2006. The crossing takes 30 minutes, and the ferries provide two departures per hour throughout the day in each direction, with reduced schedules on the weekends.

History

The company is a subsidiary of

Fosen Trafikklag Fosen Trafikklag is a company operating buses and ferries in Trøndelag and Østlandet in Norway. In total the company has approximately 750 vehicles and 16 ships, though numerous of them operate by subsidiaries. The company merged with Namos T ...

, and received

concession Concession may refer to: General * Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...

to operate the ferries from 1995, after the former company Gokstad did not offer as good a deal for the authorities. For the first two years traffic was performed with two leased ships. In 2003, Bastø Fosen received concession for operations until 2015, after the

Norwegian Public Roads Administration The Norwegian Public Roads Administration ( no, Statens vegvesen) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for national and county public roads in Norway. This includes planning, construction and operation of the national and county road netw ...

had rejected a competing offer from Stavangerske. The route is the only in the country not to receive any operating subsidies. Bastø Fosen used the concession extension as collateral for ordering the new ferry ''Bastø III''. In 2008, Bastø Fosen announced they were interested in increasing the number of ferries to four. The Public Road Administration has launched plans to build a tunnel under the fjord to replace the ferries, estimated to cost ; in comparison a bridge would cost NOK 15 billion. A tunnel would have to be financed as a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

Fleet

MS ''Bastø I'' and MS ''Bastø II'' are almost identical ships delivered in 1997 for the takeover of the route. Bastø I In March 16, 1997 and Bastø II in June 14th. They have a capacity of 200 cars and 550 passengers and were built at Fosen Mekaniske Verksted. They are 109m long and 18m wide. MS ''Bastø III'' was delivered in February 14, 2005 in conjunction with the second concession period. With a capacity of 212 cars and 540 passengers, she was built at

Remontowa Remontowa (full name: Gdańska Stocznia "Remontowa" im. J. Piłsudskiego S.A.) is a company and shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. The yard specialises in ship repair and conversions. ''Remontowa S.''A. is one of 26 companies that make up the Remonto ...

Yard in

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

. three Bigger Ferries, Bastø IV and Bastø V and Bastø VI was ordered in 2014 and was completed in 2016. Bastø VI arrived December 10, 2016; Bastø IV arrived December 23, 2016; and Bastø V arrived in April 2017.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basto Fosen Companies based in Vestfold Ferry companies of Vestfold og Telemark Ferry companies of Viken Transport companies established in 1995 Torghatten ASA Norwegian companies established in 1995