2023 has started well for the long-distance bus company Kombardo Expressen, a collaboration between Molslinjen and Herning Turist.
From January to June, 376,116 travellers have taken the Kombardo Express buses (=+20% H1 2022)
The Kombardo Expressen runs across the country and passengers travel with Molslinjen’s fast ferries across the Kattegat or across the Baltic Sea to Rønne on Bornholm.
With the ferry trip, Kombardo Expressen differs from the other long-distance bus companies in Denmark.
Molslinjen’s ferries must have internet from the SpaceX project, Starlink. An experiment on the fast ferry EXPRESS 3 on the Kattegat has proven to be able to greatly improve the experience with internet on board the ferry.
“Sending land-based internet across the curvature of the earth and out across the water to hit a moving fast ferry at 70km/h has always been a difficult exercise. But we have had Maritim Starlink on EXPRESS 3 in a test which has turned out really well”, explains Molslinjen’s commercial director, Jesper Skovgaard.
The good test means that all the ferries on the Bornholm line will receive internet from the thousands of communication satellites that Elon Musk has sent into orbit in space already during the summer holiday period. Soon after, the remaining fast ferries on the Kattegat also get internet from Starlink.
The routes of the Molslinjen, the Alslinjen, the Samsølinjen and the Langelandslinjen as well as the ferries on the Øresund between Helsingør and Helsingborg do not experience the same challenges, as they sail shorter routes and closer to land.
Molslinjen launched a calculator on their website, where motorists can get an estimate of how much they can save in terms of money and kilometres.
We did the test and imagined a journey from Kolding to Helsingør.
The answer was “We can’t help you save money, but you can save 21 km behind the wheel and enjoy a break on board Molslinjen.”
So, in this case it was cheaper to drive via the island of Fyn.
Molslinjen will “probably” tender for the Gotland traffic, said CEO Kristian Durhuus in a radio interview with P4 Gotland [listen to the interview in Swedish]
The Swedish Transport Administration’s procurement documents will be ready in a couple of weeks, and then the shipping company will have to decide.
Danish and Norwegian ferry transportation companies Molslinjen and Torghatten were acquired by EQT Infrastructure in February and March 2021 respectively. ForSea Ferries was acquired later.
Together, they form Nordic Ferry Infrastructure, a pan-Nordic ferry operator with a well-diversified portfolio of over 65 routes operated by over 100 vessels and transporting over 16 million passengers annually.
A significant reduction in the amount of exhaust particles when loading and unloading diesel vehicles has resulted in a better working environment on board ropax HAMMERSHUS, where employees no longer have to worry about the amount of particle pollution in everyday life.
Captain of Bornholmslinjen’s HAMMERSHUS Jacob Schødt Larsen was made aware of a problem with particle pollution on the vehicle deck. He acted decisively, and this meant that the cause of the contamination was quickly identified and reduced.
The captain and his colleagues are now being rewarded for this effort, by being nominated for the Working Environment Award 2023.
The specific action plan included a thorough review of the ventilation system and the corresponding update of operation and maintenance, as well as a new procedure for handling refrigerated trailers that must be connected to power on board.
Finally, subcontractors were required to ensure that the terminal tractors that load and unload trailers are equipped with particle filters.
The current CEO of ForSea, Kritian Durhuus is to become the new CEO of Molslinjen. Molslinjen’s takeover of ForSea was completed at the end of January and the two companies are in the process of merging.
The vacancy has arisen as current Molslinjen CEO Carsten Jensen is leaving the post to become the new CEO of Nordic Ferry Infrastructure in Oslo.
Nordic Ferry Infrastructure (NFI) is a holding company that will in future own both Molslinjen and the Norwegian transport company, Torghatten.
Kristian Durhuus will join Molslinjen on 15 March 2023. In the interim period Carsten Jensen will remain responsible for Molslinjen.
Photo: Molslinjen
Photo: Viking Line
Photo: Brittany Ferries
Photo: Molslinjen
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.
“Our route is critical infrastructure in Denmark, and we will constantly work to get as many cheap tickets on the market as possible. Like everyone else, we are affected by the increased costs, but we have to make up for that loss by getting more passengers and cars on the ferries”, asserts Jesper Skovgaard, MD Molslinjen.
Molslinjen will have an extra fast ferry on the Kattegat in 2023.
Molslinjen’s owners in Sweden, EQT Infrastructure, bring Molslinjen’s Carsten Jensen to a position as CEO of the newly established company Nordic Ferry Infrastructure based in Oslo.
The company is a holding company which in future owns both the Danish ferry company Molslinjen and the Norwegian ferry company Torghatten.
Carsten Jensen takes over immediately as CEO of Nordic Ferry Infrastructure. However, during a transition period he will still be responsible for the Molslinjen until a new CEO is in place.
