From DFDS to Gotlandsbolaget. Popular route in hands of new operator

Danish shipowner DFDS will sell its popular ferry route between Norway and Denmark to Swedish operator Gotlandsbolaget. This Decision aims to ensure that the route will focus in the future on investments necessary for further development, while the DFDS will focus on its core freight, passenger and logistics activities.

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Gotlandsbolaget takes over a popular ferry route from DFDS

DFDS will no longer be the operator of the popular Oslo-Frederikshavn-Copenhaga connection. The new owner was Gotlandsbolaget. The value of the transaction is DKK 400 million (approximately EUR 53 million). The transaction includes ferry services, port contracts and port equipment. This route is operated by Crown Seaways and Pearl Seaways ships.

In connection with the sale, about 800 employees who have been hired to operate the call so far will join Gotlandsbolaget. Their jobs are secure. The change is to bring investments in the service, and new owners see its enormous potential.

Statement by CEO DFDS

Torben Carlsen, CEO of DFDS, stressed that the sale of the Oslo-Frederikshavn-Copenhaga route to Gotlandsbolaget is "the best solution for all". He added that the route " deserves to be in the hands of the owner, for whom the experience of handling ferry connections is a key part of the strategy".

Carlsen also noted: "The increased demand for freight and passenger transport has led us to add additional voyageduring the season with increased intensity".

Future of DFDS

After the sale, the DFDS ferry network will consist of exclusively freight routes in the Mediterranean and North Sea, and combined freight and passenger routes in the Baltic Sea, between the Netherlands and Great Britain, the La Manche Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar. The DFDS transport network is complemented by a pan-European road and rail transport network and logistics services of the DFDS.

Written by Mariusz Dasiewicz