Back to overview
Home Green Marine DFDS Buying Ferry Duo to Service New Sweden-Belgium Route

DFDS Buying Ferry Duo to Service New Sweden-Belgium Route

May 9, 2019, by World Maritime News

Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS has reached an agreement to purchase two freight ferries that will service its new route between Gothenburg, Sweden, and Zeebrugge, Belgium. 

Source: Wikimedia – under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; Image by: Alicia Fagerving

The company said that the ferries in question are the 2000-built Slingeborg and Schieborg, featuring around 12,500 dwt. The units would be acquired from third party owners for DKK 270 million (USD 40.5 million).

VesselsValue data shows that the vessels are operated by the Netherlands-based Wagenborg Shipping.

In addition to the two newly-acquired units, DFDS will transferred one freight ferry to the new route from its existing route between Gothenburg and Ghent that currently deploys four freight ferries.

The connection between Gothenburg, Sweden, and Zeebrugge, Belgium is expected to begin operating mid June, 2019 and reach revenue in excess of DKK 300 million in 2020, according to the company.

DFDS will open the route on the back of a 5-year agreement with the provider of renewable solutions Stora Enso to annually carry around 700,000 tons of paper and board products between Gothenburg and Zeebrugge. Stora Enso has the option to extend the agreement by three years.

Separately, DFDS released its first quarter of 2019 financial report, in which it said its revenue and EBITDA increased, while outlook for 2019 remains unchanged with regard to revenue and earnings.

Revenue was up by 11% to DKK 3.9 billion driven by the expansion in the Mediterranean and stockpiling in UK ahead of the initial Brexit-date end of March. EBITDA before special items rose by 13% to DKK 677 million driven by the Mediterranean expansion and strong performance in North Sea.

Profit for the period dropped to to DKK 120 million, compared to DKK 157 million reported in the same quarter a year earlier.

“The continued expansion of our network drives DFDS’ growth in 2019 and beyond. Despite current headwinds in some markets, we are on track to deliver on our outlook for the year,” Torben Carlsen, CEO, said.