DFDS Seaways

History

The company renewed their fleet in 2006, purchasing MS King of Scandinavia and MS Princess of Norway to replace the last ships dating from the 1970s still in service. The company has acquired a reputation as something of an expert in purchasing used ships, as the last time DFDS Seaways ordered a newbuild was in 1978 (although they have since taken over build contracts and taken delivery of newbuilds originally ordered by other companies). In 2006 DFDS Seaways stopped serving Sweden when MS Princess of Scandinavia was taken off service and the Copenhagen–Oslo service ships stopped calling at Helsingborg. In May 2008 DFDS made public their plan to close down the loss-making United Kingdom–Norway service on 1 September 2008. MS Queen of Scandinavia, the ship that was used in the service, has since been chartered out to St Peter Line.

In July 2010, DFDS acquired Norfolkline from Maersk. The Norfolkline routes and vessels were integrated into DFDS Seaways. Now, DFDS Seaways have the Dover–Dunkerque route and have launched the new Dover–Calais route from February 2012.

In 2015, DFDS announced that it had unveiled a new logo, which saw 'DFDS' in a new font and the logo with the white Maltese cross lost its outer circle, furthermore DFDS announced that the DFDS Seaways subsidiary would be shortened to just 'DFDS' carrying a dark blue hull in the same font instead of the traditional light blue hull, and the Maltese cross with the circle. The first vessels to receive the new livery are the former MyFerryLink ferries, Rodin soon to become Cote des Dunes and the Berlioz soon to become the Cote des Flandres, would be the first vessels to receive the new livery and new name scheme, that would eventually be rolled out throughout the whole fleet. All the fleet will lose the 'Seaways' suffix from its name and will instead receive local preference names.

Routes

DFDS Seaways operate twenty routes across the North Sea and Baltic Sea.

Passenger & Freight

Freight only routes

Fleet

DFDS Seaways operate a large fleet of Ro-Ro, Ro-Pax and Cruise ferries. Following restructuring in 2010 all shipping activities (including those of DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) were rebranded as DFDS Seaways.

Victoria Seaways 2013 fire

On 23 April 2013, Victoria Seaways caught fire whilst on passage between Kiel, Germany and Klaipeda in Lithuania. The fire was discovered on the main vehicle deck at around midnight on the 22/23 April. The ship's fire extinguishing system took control of the fire quickly, and passengers were sent to muster stations whilst the fire was put out. The ship continued to Klaipeda shortly after. The cause of the incident is unknown.

Sirena Seaways 2013 dock collision

On 22 June 2013, Sirena Seaways collided with the dockside at Harwich, Essex, with 489 passengers on board. The incident caused some damage to both the dockside, loading ramp and ship, resulting in the vessel taking on water. The crew blocked the opening from inside and the watertight compartments were used to prevent the ship from capisizing. The Harwich RNLI lifeboat, Walton Coastguard rescue team and an RAF search and rescue helicopter from Wattisham Airfield responded to the incident, along with a number of other vessels nearby. The ferry was brought alongside at 14:45 and the passengers were disembarked. The cause of the collision is unknown.

Britannia Seaways 2013 fire

On Saturday 16 November 2013, Britannia Seaways caught fire in the North Sea trapping 32 crew on board. Helicopters were despatched from Norway were unable to take the crew off of the ship due to bad weather conditions. The fire caught alight in a container on one of the upper decks and was extinguished 13 hours after it broke out. The ship was carrying military equipment to Norway for a military exercise and reached Bergen a few days later. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation.

Corona Seaways 2013 fire

On 4 December 2013, at 02:30, Corona Seaways caught fire whilst the vessel was travelling from Fredericia to Copenhagen. The fire broke out in the main closed deck, and was briefly under control with the ships sprinkler systems before flaring up again. The ship arrived at Helsingborg at 07.00, where the fire was extinguished by the local fire services. There have been no injuries reported amongst the 10 passengers and 19 crew members. The cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation.

King Seaways 2013 fire

On 28 December 2013, a cabin aboard the ferry King Seaways caught fire while it was approximately 30 miles off Flamborough Head whilst travelling to IJmuiden, the Netherlands. The fire started at 22:45 GMT on Saturday and was extinguished within 15 minutes. RAF rescue helicopters from RAF Boulmer and RAF Leconfield winched two passengers and four crew off the ship. The vessel returned to North Shields on Sunday morning. The cause is still under investigation however two people have been arrested in connection with the fire. One was subsequently charged with arson reckless to endangering life, and affray. On 8 July 2014 it was reported that one of them had pleaded guilty in Newcastle Crown Court to a charge of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Crown Seaways 2014 engine incident

On 27 April 2014, Crown Seaways experienced engine problems near the Danish island of Anholt, whislt travelling between Copenhagen and Oslo. It is reported that passengers heard a loud bang, a shudder and smoke at about 21:30, when the vessel suffered an engine failure and crank explosion. The ship soon continued on its way towards Oslo. The cause of the incident is unknown.

Dover Seaways 2014 dock collision

On 10 November 2014, Dover Seaways collided with a harbour wall at the Port of Dover, shortly after leaving the port at 08:00. The ship was heading to Dunkirk carrying 320 passengers. Several passengers were treated with minor injuries, and four were taken to hospital for additional treatment. The cause of the collision is unknown.

City of Rotterdam / Primula 2015 collision

The City of Rotterdam car carrier collided with Primula Seaways in the Humber estuary in December 2015.

Closure of the Harwich - Esbjerg route

The Harwich - Esbjerg route was closed on the 29th September 2014 due to loss of passengers. The Harwich - Esbjerg route operated since 1875. This closure caused the issue of no DFDS Seaways ferry route crossing directly from England to Denmark. DFDS Seaways worked hard to cut costs on the route to make it more competitive. DFDS Seaways reported that MS Sirena Seaways will move on other duties on the route between Kapellskar, Sweden and Paldiski, Estonia. A petition has been set up to attempt to show DFDS that there is a demand for the route.