Molslinjen

Molslinjen A/S
TypeAktieselskab
PredecessorMols-Linien
Founded1964; 62 years ago (1964)
HeadquartersAarhus, Denmark
Area served
  • Denmark
  • Sweden
  • Germany
Key peopleKristian Durhuus CEO
ServicesPassenger transportation, Freight transportation
ParentNordic Ferry Infrastructure
Websitewww.molslinjen.com Edit this at Wikidata

Molslinjen (previously Mols-Linien) is a Danish company that operates ferry services between Jutland and Zealand, and also services to Bornholm. In March 2017, the division operating the routes in the Kattegat was renamed Molslinjen.

History

Mols-Linien was formed by DFDS in 1964 sailings commenced on 18 May 1966.

A downturn in traffic following the 1973 oil crisis led Mols-Linien into a pooling agreement with rival Grenaa-Hundested Linien in 1979.

In 1984 DFDS sold Mols-Linien and Grenaa-Hundested Linien to J. Lauritzen A/S. The company was sold 4 years later to Danish investment company DIFKO.

In 1999 Mols-Linien merged with Scandlines subsidiary Cat-Link.

Scandlines sold its holding to the Clipper Group in 2008.

In July 2011, Mols-Linien announced it was to terminate the Kalundborg – Aarhus route and sell the two vessels operating the route.

Mols-Linien terminated the Aarhus – Kalundborg route on 15 September 2011. Thereafter the route was operated by Kattegatruten until October 2013 and then suspended.

In 2016 Mols-Linien won a 10-year public tender to operate ferry services to Bornholm, and operations started in September 2018 under the name Bornholmslinjen. In 2017, the routes in the Kattegat operated under the new name Molslinjen.

In 2018, the ferry routes of Alslinjen, Langelandslinjen, Samsølinjen and Fanølinjen became part of Molslinjen with the acquisition of Danske Færger. The Swedish private equity company EQT bought the Danish shipping company Molslinjen in December 2020 from Kapitalfonden Polaris, who had owned it since 2015. It was merged into a common holding company, Nordic Ferry Infrastructure, with Norwegian ferry operator Torghatten. In January 2023, the Danish and Swedish competition regulators approved the sale of ForSea Ferries to Molslinjen for an undisclosed sum.

In 2025, the company ordered three battery-electric drive-through Incat catamarans for the Kattegat route in 2028, with a 118 MWh shore battery in each port to handle 2-3 ship charging sessions regardless of grid conditions.

Fleet

Molslinjen catamarans

Image Name Built Enterered service Gross Tonnage Notes
Express 22013201310,503 GTBuilt by Incat in Tasmania, Australia
Express 32017201710,842 GTBuilt by Incat, first sailed April 2017
Express 42018201810,500 GTBuilt by Austal in Western Australia. Austal ships do not have the centre bow that characterises the previous solely Incat built catamarans.

Bornholms-linjen

Image Name Built Enterered service Gross Tonnage Notes
Express 12009201210,503 GTBuilt by Incat
Hammershus2018201818,009 GTOperates on Rønne–Køge and Rønne–Sassnitz routes
Povl Anker1978201612.131 GTOperates on Rønne–Køge and Rønne–Sassnitz routes
Express 52022202313,448 GTBuilt by Austal, cost €83.7 million. Carries 1,610 passengers and 450 cars.

Øresundslinjen

Image Name Built Enterered service Gross Tonnage Notes
MF Tycho Brahe 1991 2018 11.148 GT 1250 passengers

Battery-electric

M/F Aurora af Helsingborg 1992 2018 11.148 GT 1250 passengers

Battery-electric

M/F Hamlet 1997 10.067 GT 1000 passengers Battery-electric
M/F Mercandia IV 1989 4.296 GT 400 passengers

Replacement & Freight

Langelandslinjen

Image Name Built Enterered service Gross Tonnage Notes
M/F Langeland201220124.500
M/F Lolland201220124.500

Fanølinjen

Image Name Built Enterered service Gross Tonnage Notes
M/F Menja19981998751runs on HVO Diesel
M/F Fenja19981998751runs on HVO Diesel
E/F Grotte20212022925Battery-electric

Samsølinjen

Image Name Built Enterered service Gross Tonnage Notes
M/F Tyrfing202520264.318 GTbattery-electric launched in October 2024

Alslinjen

Image Name Built Enterered service Gross Tonnage Notes
M/F Nerthus202520254.318 GTBattery-electric

Former Ships

Image Name Built Enterered service Gross Tonnage Notes
Max Mols199819995,617 GTSold in 2024
Samsø200920144.630Sold in 2025
Fynshav199820153.380Sold in 2026
M/F Frigg Sydfyen198420151.676to scrapped in Grenaa

Routes

Molslinjen routes
Molslinjen's routes to/from Bornholm since 1 September 2018.

As of February 2023, Molslinjen operates the following routes around Denmark and surrounding countries, under a multitude of brand names:

References

  1. 1 2 Skjøtt, Heino. "Mols-Linien (Historie)" [Mols-Linien (History)]. Færgejournalen (in Danish). Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  2. ↑ "Mols Line Ferry Postcards". Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "2358059 - Profile". Archived from the original on 19 February 2012.
  4. ↑ "Om FANØLINJEN". FANØLINJEN (in Danish). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  5. ↑ Ferry Shipping News. Molslinjen Buys Danske Færger. Retrieved 22 January 2023
  6. ↑ Bitsch, Alexander (10 December 2020). "Molslinjen solgt til EQT". Finans (in Danish). Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "Who we are". Nordic Ferry Infrastructure. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Sjöfartstidningen. Molslinjen får grönt ljus för köpet av ForSea. Retrieved 19 January 2023
  9. ↑ Bosworth, Alan (22 July 2025). "Molslinjen orders two electric catamaran ferries for Kattegat route". Baird Maritime / Work Boat World.
  10. ↑ "Molslinjen taps Incat Tasmania to build third fully electric, high-speed ferry". Riviera. 5 December 2025.
  11. ↑ DataPortuaria (28 June 2026). "BOS Power to Provide Batteries for Molslinjen Ferry Electrification". DataPortuaria.
  12. ↑ "Technical advisor on the world's largest maritime electrification — Hybrid Greentech". www.hybridgreentech.com. 26 June 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 "Incat Heralds New Generation Fast Ferry". 21 April 2017. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  14. ↑ "Austal Commences Construction of 109 Metre High Speed Ferry for Molslinjen of Denmark". 26 April 2017.
  15. ↑ "Austal to build new catamaran for Molslinjen".
  16. ↑ "M/F Tycho Brahe". ferry-site.dk. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  17. ↑ "Tycho Brahe" (in Danish). faergelejet.dk. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  18. ↑ "M/F Aurora af Helsingborg". ferry-site.dk. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  19. ↑ "Aurora af Helsingborg" (in Danish). faergelejet.dk. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  20. ↑ "M/F Hamlet". ferry-site.dk. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  21. ↑ "Hamlet" (in Danish). faergelejet.dk. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  22. ↑ Koefoed-Hansen, Michael (28 July 2024). "Molslinjen sætter klimamål". Færgenyt (in Danish). Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  23. ↑ "M/F Mercandia IV". ferry-site.dk. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  24. ↑ "Mercandia IV" (in Danish). faergelejet.dk. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  25. ↑ "M/S Mercandia IV" (in Danish). skip-siden.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  26. ↑ ""Mercandia IV"" (in Danish). faergejournalen.dk. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  27. 1 2 "Gamle Fanø-færger først med fossilfri biodiesel". September 2021.
  28. ↑ "El-færgen Grotte".
  29. 1 2 "Nye elfærger har fået navne" [New electric ferries have been given names]. Maritime Danmark (in Danish). Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  30. ↑ Bosworth, Alan (19 January 2026). "Molslinjen completes deployment of newest electric ferries". Baird Maritime / Work Boat World.
  31. 1 2 Larsen, Stefan Holmager (29 August 2022). "Molslinjen har valgt værfter til byggeriet af nye elfærger" [Molslinjen has chosen shipyards for the construction of new electric ferries]. Maritime Direct (in Danish). Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  32. ↑ "Molslinjen: die dänische Fährreederei Samsølinjens feiert den Stapellauf der neuen Elektrofähre" [Molslinjen: the Danish ferry company Samsølinjens celebrates the launch of the new electric ferry]. Seereisenportal (in German). 22 October 2024. Archived from the original on 23 July 2025. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  33. ↑ Søsætning af Samsølinjens elfærge, Tyrfing [Launching of Samsølinjen's electric ferry, Tyrfing] (in Danish). Molslinjen A/S. 21 October 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024 – via YouTube.
  34. ↑ "NERTHUS (MMSI219033781) Ship Photos". MarineTraffic. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  35. ↑ Maritime, Baird (4 July 2025). "VESSEL REVIEW | Nerthus – Danish operator's new cross-strait ferry boasts hybrid electric propulsion". Baird Maritime / Work Boat World.
  36. ↑ Koefoed-Hansen, Michael (30 April 2024). "Molslinjen sælger MAX" [Molslinjen sells MAX]. Færgenyt (in Danish). Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  37. ↑ Koefoed-Hansen, Michael (26 January 2025). "SAMSØ solgt til Blu Navy" [SAMSØ sold to Blu Navy]. Færgenyt (in Danish). Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  38. ↑ "Fynshav solgt til italiensk rederi". www.maritimedanmark.dk.
  39. ↑ https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:153498
  40. ↑ "Time table". MOLSLINJEN. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  41. ↑ "BORNHOLMSLINJENs timetable". BORNHOLMSLINJEN. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  42. ↑ "SAMSØLINJENs fartplan" [SAMSØLINJENs timetable]. SAMSØLINJEN (in Danish). Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  43. ↑ "ALSLINJENs fartplan" [ALSLINJENs timetable]. ALSLINJEN (in Danish). Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  44. ↑ "LANGELANDSLINJENs fartplan og ruter" [LANGELANDSLINJENs timetable and routes]. LANGELANDLINJEN (in Danish). Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  45. ↑ "FANØLINJENs fartplan" [FANØLINJENs timetable]. FANØLINJEN (in Danish). Retrieved 5 February 2023.