Norfolkline was a European ferry operator and logistics company owned by Maersk. It provided freight ferry services on the

English channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the C ...

, and 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 ...

; and passenger ferry services on the English channel and Irish Sea; and logistics services across Europe. Norfolkline employed more than 2,200 employees in 13 countries across Europe, operating out of 35 different locations. Norfolkline operated 18 vessels and over 550 refrigerated trailers (including 200 with dual compartment units), 1,750 dry-cargo trailers, and 1,150 swap-body trailers for intermodal freight transport. In 2006 more than 1.5 million passengers used Norfolkline's ferry services across the

between

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

and

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

and on the

(between

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

& Liverpool and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

) and over 1.2 million freight movements were completed. In July 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 (litera ...

acquired Norfolkline; The Norfolkline routes and vessels were integrated into

DFDS Seaways DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across northern Europe. Following the acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010, DFDS restructured its other shipping divisions ( DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) ...

History

Activities started in 1961 when Dutch entrepreneur Mr. L. Remeeus founded Norfolk Lijn N.V. He operated two coasters on a regular cargo service between Great Yarmouth and Scheveningen. The first appearance of the company in the

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

business was made possible when the

roll-on/roll-off 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 ...

vessel ''Duke of Holland'' was acquired in 1969. Mr. Remeeus sold Norfolk Lijn N.V. to

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

in 1973 and the company was renamed Norfolk Line in 1974. The Company operated out of Great Yarmouth with "Duke of Holland and Duke of Norfolk", operations from

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

commenced in 1969 and were finished by 1992, when nearby

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London. H ...

poached the business with Norfolkline in an aim to enhance the size of its fleet, which at the time Felixstowe could accommodate but Great Yarmouth couldn't. The operations at Great Yarmouth were located at Atlas Terminal in the area of town known as South Denes. Norfolkline's UK head office was located at Atlas House (now demolished) whilst the operator had the entire Atlas Terminal quayside, a holding yard on the other side of the road as well as other facilities around the town. It is widely rumoured, that the town's outer harbour, which was first proposed around the 1960s/1970s was the main reason for the operator pulling the plug. It is understood that Maersk wanted to hold an ownership in the new harbour and pay partly towards it, whilst also funding improvements to major road networks to the town including the A47 and A12 as well as partly funding a new river crossing. When the town and port authority rejected this proposal as well as the issue of capacity sizing which was soon outgrowing the town's river harbour and without the outer harbour it would have been falling behind, later Norfolkline moved to Felixstowe in 1992. The Maersk Company Ltd, subsidiary of A.P. Møller acquired Norfolk Line in 1985. The nineties started with the merger of Norfolk Line with rail transport specialist Skandi in 1995 introducing rail freight services to the company, followed by 4 new vessels that were added to the Norfolk Line fleet (1996) and the opening of a container route between

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

(Holland) to

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

(Ireland) in 1997. The year after that the company was renamed Norfolkline and the refrigerated transport business was launched in Belfast. A second refrigerated transport location was launched in 1999 in Larkhall. In the new millennium, the ferry division expanded with the start of a ferry route from

( UK) to

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

(France) in 2000. Five years later Norfolkline acquired Norse Merchant Ferries, a roll-on/roll-off ferry operator on

routes. In 2006 a new roll-on/roll-off terminal in

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 ...

was opened, launching a new route between Vlaardingen and

North Killingholme Haven North Killingholme Haven is a water outlet on the south bank of the Humber Estuary in the civil parish of North Killingholme, to the north-west of the Port of Immingham. The area was used at the beginning of the 20th century for clay extraction ...

Norfolkline business

Norfolkline's business was split in two divisions, a Logistics division and a Ferry division.

Logistics division

The logistics division was focused on tailor made solutions through different industries. Norfolkline operated logistics services providing refrigerated transportation of goods by road, rail, and sea from locations across Europe with routes from/to

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 ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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 betwee ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

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 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and 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 ...

Ferry division

Norfolkline operated passenger and freight ferry services on the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

, the

and the

. Norfolkline's North Sea services carried freight only, whereas all other routes carried both lorry freight and private vehicles. Norfolkline also carried foot passengers on some of their North Sea services. Norfolkline's ferry routes were as follows: *

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liv ...

—

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

— Heysham (Freight only) *

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) ...

—

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring District, Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-w ...

(Freight only) *

—

Immingham Immingham is a town, civil parish and ward in the North East Lincolnshire unitary authority of England. It is situated on the south-west bank of the Humber Estuary, and is north-west from Grimsby. The region was relatively unpopulated and und ...

(Freight only) *

—

(Freight only) *

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

—

(Freight only) *

—

(Freight only) * Rosyth—

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 ...

Social and environmental responsibility

Staff of Norfolkline Larkhall raised money for Cash for Kids, a Scottish charity. ]. The company sponsored the Liverpool Irish Festival 2008. Norfolkline Irish Sea has provided financial support for Action Renewables. Norfolkline reduced their carbon footprint by investing in environmental friendly resources, such as their recent investment of refrigerated trailers which are 92% recyclable.

Awards and recognitions

* 2008 - “Best Ferry Company” by readers of Guardian. * 2007 - “Highly Recommended” in “Best Ferry Company” category of the 2007 Telegraph Travel Awards. * 2006 - winner NBCC Trophy (Netherlands British Chamber of Commerce), Anglo-Dutch award for enterprise. * 2004 - voted “Best European Crossing Operator” by readers of The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph. * 2004 - voted “Leading Cross Channel Operator” by readers of The Guardian and The Observer.

List of Norfolkline vessels

* Maersk Dunkerque * Maersk Delft *Maersk Dover *Maersk Flanders *

Maersk Anglia MS ''Blue Carrier 1'' is a ro-ro ferry built in 2000 for Norfolkline BV and now operates in the Aegean Sea for Blue Star Ferries. History Norfolk Line The vessel was built at the Guangzhou Wenchong shipyard in China for Norfolk Line, origina ...

*Maersk Importer
Maersk Essex
*Maersk Kent *Maersk Exporter *Maas Viking *

Lagan Viking MS ''Stena Scandica'' is a RoPax ferry, owned by Stena Line and it operates on the Baltic Sea between Nynäshamn, Sweden and Ventspils, Latvia. History ''Stena Scandica'' was built in July 2005, as ''Lagan Viking'', entering service with Nor ...

* Mersey Viking * Dublin Viking *

Liverpool Viking ''Pelagos'' is a RoPax ferry owned and operated by french shipping company La Méridionale. The vessel is named after a marine conservation area surrounding Corsica. History ''Pelagos'' was built in October 1997 as the ''Lagan Viking'', enter ...

*Saga Moon *East Express *Maersk Vlaardingen *Maersk Voyager *

RR Arrow MS ''Arrow'' is a Ro-Ro ferry built by Astilleros de Huelva SA, Huelva, Spain in 1998 as ''Varbola'' for the Estonian Shipping Company, Tallinn. During a charter to Dart Line she was renamed ''Dart 6'', reverting to ''Varbola'' when the charte ...

RR Shield ''Hildasay'' is a 7,606 GT roll-on/roll-off ferry which was built by Astilleros de Huelva, Spain in 1999 as ''Leili'' for the Estonian Shipping Company. During a charter to Crowley Maritime she was renamed ''Port Everglades Express'', reverting t ...

* Merchant Brilliant *Scottish Viking

References

External links

DFDS passenger ferry websiteNorfolkline passenger ferry websiteNorfolkline freight ferry websiteNorfolkline logistics websiteSister Ships Maersk Vlaardingen and VoyagerHistory of Norfolk Line Ferries
{{DFDS Multinational companies headquartered in the Netherlands Transport companies established in 1961 Shipping companies of the Netherlands Ferry companies of the Netherlands DFDS Transport companies disestablished in 2010 2010 disestablishments in the Netherlands 2010 mergers and acquisitions Dutch companies disestablished in 2010 Dutch companies established in 1961