Scandlines is a ferry company that operates the

Rødby Rødby is a town located on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It has a population of 1,957 (1 January 2024).Puttgarden and

Gedser Gedser is a town at the southern tip of the Denmark, Danish island of Falster in the Guldborgsund Municipality in Region Sjælland, Sjælland region. It is the Extreme points of Denmark, southernmost town in Denmark, and also the southernmost poin ...

–

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

ferry routes between Denmark and Germany. Scandlines owns seven ferries, six of which are hybrid ferries, making Scandlines the owner of the world's largest fleet of hybrid ferries. It has two subsidiaries, Scandlines Danmark ApS and Scandlines Deutschland GmbH, which operate in the two main countries.

History

In 1903, the first railway ferry sailed between

in Denmark and

Warnemünde (, literally ''Mouth of the Warnow'') is a seaside resort and a district of the city of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Mecklenburg, Germany. It is located on the Baltic Sea and, as the name implies, at the estuary of the river Warnow (river ...

in Germany, where DSB operated the route from the Danish side in partnership with a state-owned German shipping company.Our history
Scandilines A second service, the 'bird's flight line' (die Vogelfluglinie in German) between

Rødby Rødby is a town located on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It has a population of 1,957 (1 January 2024).Puttgarden was added in 1963, creating a direct route between

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 ...

and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. The company was separated from DSB in 1995, and transformed into an independent limited company called DSB Rederi, which was, in turn, rebranded Scandlines in 1997. The Scandlines brand had already been in use since 1991 on the Helsingør–Helsingborg ferry route In 1998, the two shipping company partners, Danish Scandlines and German DFO, merged to form Scandlines, owned by the Danish Ministry of Transport and

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

. Scandlines was privatised in 2007 with 3i and

Allianz Allianz SE ( , ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. Allianz is the world's largest List of largest insurance ...

Capital owning 40% each and Deutsche Seereederei 20%. In 2010 Deutsche Seereederei sold its shareholding to 3i and Allianz. In 2013 Allianz sold its 49% to 3i. In 2018 First Sentier Investors and Hermes Investment Management acquired 50% and 15% shareholdings. Between 1999 and 2015, some of Scandlines' routes were sold, including Aarhus-Kalundborg to Molslinjen, and Helsingør-Helsingborg to ForSea Ferries. Scandlines operates two routes;

and

Rødby Rødby is a town located on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It has a population of 1,957 (1 January 2024).Puttgarden. Scandlines expects to continue operating on the Rødby–Puttgarden route despite the planned completion of the Fehmarn Belt tunnel in 2029.

Ferries

Scandlines has six hybrid ferries and one freight ferry. In 2022, two ferries had a rotor sail mounted. Scandlines' ferries on Rødby-Puttgarden: Scandlines' ferries on Gedser-Rostock: Freight ferry In November 2021, it was announced that the company has ordered a battery-electric ferry for the Puttgarden-Rødby route from Cemre Shipyard. The new vessel is due to enter service in 2024 and will have two-deck loading alongside a freight capacity of 66 HGVs, or some 1200 lane metres.

Harbours

Scandlines owns the harbours areas in Rødby, Gedser and Puttgarden and leases an area in the harbour of Rostock.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Deutsche Bahn Ferry companies of Denmark Ferry companies of Germany Transport companies established in 1998 1998 establishments in Denmark 3i Group companies