Olau Line was 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 existed from 1956 to 1994. It operated a
ferry
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
service from 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
to the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
from 1974 until 1994. Originally based in Denmark, the company passed under the ownership of the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
TT-Line
TT-Line GmbH is a shipping company based in Lübeck, Germany, which has been providing ferry service between Travemünde in Schleswig-Holstein and Trelleborg in southern Sweden since 1962. Since 1992, it has also operated a service from Ro ...
in 1980.
History
Olau Line was founded in 1956 by the
Danish businessman
Ole Lauritzen. Originally the company concentrated in chartering tankers and cargo ships to other shipping companies, but in 1974 Olau Line started a car/passenger
ferry
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
services from
Sheerness
Sheerness () is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby ...
in 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
to
Vlissingen
Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...
in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and from
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
(Denmark) to
Aalborg
Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...
(Denmark). The latter line was closed after merely a month of service. Between 1974 and 1976 the consistence of Olau's fleet varied greatly, until in 1976 the company acquired M/S ''Apollo'' from
Rederi AB Slite
Rederi AB Slite was a Sweden, Swedish List of ship companies, shipping company, founded in 1947. The company was one of the three founding companies of Viking Line. Rederi AB Slite went bankruptcy, bankrupt in 1993.
History Early history
Rederi ...
and renamed her and chartered M/S ''Finnpartner'' from
Finnlines
Finnlines Plc (, ) is a shipping operator of Roll-on/roll-off, ro-ro and passenger services in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the Celtic Sea. It is a subsidiary of the Grimaldi Group. Finnlines’ sea transports are concentrated in the Balt ...
, renaming her . These two ships formed the Olau fleet for the next four years.
In 1977 Olau attempted to start a service from Sheerness to
Dunkirk
Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, but this was not successful. By the end of the 1970s the company was in heavy debt, and in 1979 Ole Lauritzen was forced to sell 50% of Olau Line to the
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
-based
TT-Line
TT-Line GmbH is a shipping company based in Lübeck, Germany, which has been providing ferry service between Travemünde in Schleswig-Holstein and Trelleborg in southern Sweden since 1962. Since 1992, it has also operated a service from Ro ...
. The following year Lauritzen sold his remaining shares of the company to TT-Line. At this time the TT-Line logo was adopted as the new logo for Olau Line, but with red and blue colours instead of TT-Line's yellow and blue. TT-Line decided to invest in new, large state-of-the-art
cruiseferries
A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while ot ...
for Olau services. These were delivered in 1981 and 1982 as and , respectively. Unlike Olau's earlier ships, most of which were registered in the United Kingdom, the new ships were registered in TT's homeland Germany.
In the late 1980s TT-Line decided to replace the ''Olau Hollandia'' and ''Olau Britannia'' with new ships. In 1986 and 1987 the company had taken delivery of two cruise ferries for their route between Germany and Sweden, and it was decided that two additional sisters of the same type would be built for Olau Line. These were delivered in 1989 and 1990, and like their predecessors were also named and .
The new ''Olau Hollandia'' and ''Olau Britannia'' were more than twice the size of the old ships, and they soon proved to be too large for the route they were built for unless working practices could change.
Due to high operating costs the ships were taken out of the German ship registry (which required expensive German crewing) and registered in
Luxembourg
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
in January 1993, but action by the German Seamen's Union, whose members crewed the vessels, forced the ships to be re-registered in Germany just a month later. In 1994 TT-Line made plans to move the ships under
Bahamian flag, but when the German Seamen's Union protested again, TT-Line decided to close down Olau Line in May 1994.
[ at ''Fakta om Fartyg'', retrieved 20 May 2007] At the time P&O Ferries were looking for new tonnage for their Portsmouth to Le Havre route and had identified the two Olau ships as suitable, while TT-Line (which had also been having financial issues) did not want the distraction of continuing labour issues at its UK subsidiary.
Following the closure of Olau Line the second Olau Hollandia and Olau Britannia were chartered to
P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferry, ferries from Scotland to Northern Ireland, and from England to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisi ...
, who used them successfully for many years on the
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
—
Le Havre
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
service.
Ships
Not a complete list.
* (1974–1975)
* (1974–1975, chartered)
* (1974–1976)
* (1975–1976, chartered)
* (1976–1980)
* (1976–1981, chartered)
* (1980–1981, chartered)
* - (1980-1988)
* (1982–1990)
* (1989–1994)
* (1990–1994)
References
Notes
Unless otherwise noted, all data is fro
Olau Line at Simplon Postcard retrieved 20 May 2007.
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*
at ''Fakta om Fartyg''
{{Authority control
Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom
Ferry companies of the Netherlands
Ferry companies of England
Sheerness
Vlissingen
Companies based in Zeeland