- Almost 80,000 Danish and Swedish foot passengers between Helsingør and Helsingborg during the Easter weekend 2023.
- +10% compared to 2022.
- Best Easter since 1996 (since the opening of the Øresund Bridge).
- Low Swedish krone compared to Danish krone increased shopping onboard and in Helsingborg.
Molslinjen is now officially the new owner of ForSea, the company which operates between Helsingør and Helsingborg.
The announced transaction was recently approved by the competition authorities in Denmark and Sweden, and now the transaction has been completed.
Broker sources report that both the ro-ro ships MARIA GRAZIA ONORATO and ALF POLLAK owned by Siem Ro-Ro and bareboat chartered by Moby-CIN, have been sub-chartered to DFDS for 24 months.
Daily rate would be EUR 25,500.
The news seems to be confirmed for ALF POLLAK since the ship has started operating early this month on the Turkey – France line operated by DFDS.
MARIA GRAZIA ONORATO, instead, is still deployed on the routes linking Belgium, Denmark and the UK for CLdN RoRo.
The Danish and Swedish competition authorities have now approved Molslinjen‘s announced purchase of ferry company ForSea.
With the support of EQT Infrastructure, Molslinjen A/S has entered into a final agreement to acquire ForSea from Igneo Infrastructure Partners.
ForSea is the sole operator of ferries between Helsingør, Denmark and Helsingborg, Sweden, providing ferry services via a single ferry route strategically located at the nearest point between the two countries (approx. 4 km).
As a true “floating bridge”, the ForSea ferries are an integral part of the Nordic transport infrastructure network and carry six million passengers, one million passenger cars and 450,000 trucks across the Öresund every year.
The company operates 5 ferries across the route, 2 of which are electric and a third is scheduled for electric operation – setting a clear path to full decarbonisation of the fleet within this decade.
Molslinjen was acquired by EQT Infrastructure in 2021.
The transaction is subject to approval by the Swedish and Danish competition authorities and is expected to be completed in early 2023. The parties have agreed not to disclose the selling price.
- In 2018, the first conversion to battery operation of the ferries TYCHO BRAHE and AURORA to the world’s largest battery-powered ropax ferries was carried out.
- AURORA has sailed to 93% on electricity during the past year.
- During the year, TYCHO BRAHE has undergone a major upgrade process where all battery packs have now been replaced in order to store more energy and double the lifespan of the battery pack from 5 to 10 years.
- Battery capacity increase from 4,160 kWh to 6,400 kWh, without requiring additional space on board the vessel.
- ForSea has hereby completed yet another major project that means major environmental benefits for the entire Öresund region, including reduced CO2 emissions by over 70% per year (compared to the base year 2016) (a reduction of 26,000 tons of CO2/year).
A total of 135,000 people travelled with ForSea in the period Wednesday-Sunday 25-29 May (Ascencion)
“It is with pleasure that we can state that we are breaking the record from 2017. It becomes clear to us that the offer on board and the voyage itself is really appreciated by our passengers,” says Kristian Durhuus, CEO of ForSea.
Covid made people rediscover nearby destinations, and this ‘staycation’ trend seems to continue.
Some highlights:
- 70% reduction of CO2 emissions by the end of 2022.
- During 2021, AURORA made 92.5% of its crossings on battery power. CO2 emissions were slashed by 54% (20,500 tonnes) compared with the baseline year of 2016.
- 42% reduction in energy use compared with the baseline year of 2016 and 19% compared with 2020.
- In 2021 a total of 450,101 trucks crossed the Öresund with ForSea, which equates to a reduction in CO2 emissions of 14,287 tonnes compared with alternative routes avoiding the ferry.
- In 2021 ForSea transported 3.9 million passengers. (2021: 3.5 million).
We did a few crossings between Sweden and Denmark, on the battery-powered ferry AURORA AF HELSINGBORG.
In this short video, senior chief engineer Christian Andersson explains how the ship is being charged in five minutes, for a crossing of 20 minutes.
Throughout 2021, ForSea has sailed between Helsingborg-Helsingör according to the normal timetable regardless of the pandemic’s.
Freight traffic trends
- +8.5% freight compared to 2020
- +3.5% freight compared to 2019
- This can be seen as an effect of changed consumption patterns, as more and more orders are placed online.
Passenger traffic trends
- Shorter trips, preferably by car or train before air travel.
- Holidays nearby, or touring” between Sweden and Denmark.
- +12% passengers compared to 2020.
- +13% increase in sales in the onboard shops compared with the normal year 2019
Environmental trends
- Targets for reduced CO2 levels set for the year 2030 will be met as early as 2022.
- Ferry AURORA continues to sail with battery operation.
- The upgrade of TYCHO BRAHE’s batteries is expected to be completed shortly.
- Calculations for 2022 show an expected reduction of 71% CO2 emissions compared to 2016.
- New for the year are CO2 equivalents for all food served in restaurants and cafés. Thus, everything becomes measurable and the opportunity to produce more sustainable food is created. In addition, guests can easily compare the different offerings and make their own, active environmental choices.
“We leave 2021 with a positive feeling and look forward to 2022 “, says Kristian Durhuus, CEO of ForSea (photo).
