Scandlines is a major German-Danish ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 operator.

It consists of a parent company, Scandlines AG, and under this parent company a German subsidiary named Scandlines Deutschland GmbH and a Danish subsidiary named Scandlines Danmark A/S. Scandlines as a whole operates 17 lines for passenger and freight

Cargo

Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...

 in and between Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and the Baltic countries

Baltic countries

The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...

.

Scandlines used to be co-owned by the Danish Ministry of Transportation (50%) and Deutsche Bahn AG (50%), but as of June 2007, it is owned by a consortium consisting of 3i Group

3i

3i Group plc is a multinational private equity and venture capital company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has offices in 13 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas and had total assets under management of £12.7 billion as at 31 March 2011...

 of London (40%), Allianz Capital Partners

Allianz

SE is a global financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core business and focus is insurance. As of 2010, it was the world's 12th-largest financial services group and 23rd-largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine.Its Allianz Global Investors...

 of Munich (40%) and Deutsche Seereederei of Rostock (20%). The consortium bought Scandlines for a total of 1,560 million Euros. On 29 October 2010, the remaining 20% of Scandlines was acquired from Deutsche Seereederei (DSR) Rostock. Now 3i and Allianz both hold 50% of Scandlines.

Routes

Scandlines operates nine routes across the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

.

Route	Crossing time
Puttgarden Puttgarden Puttgarden is a ferry harbour and a village on the German island of Fehmarn. It lies on an important route between Germany and Denmark known as the Vogelfluglinie which crosses the 18 km strait, the Fehmarnbelt, to Rødby on the island of Lolland....  - Rødby Rødby Rødby is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lolland in Denmark. The former Rødby municipality covered an area of 120 km², and had a total population of 6,590...	45 mins
Helsingør - Helsingborg Helsingborg Helsingborg is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 97,122 inhabitants in 2010. Helsingborg is the centre of an area in the Øresund region of about 320,000 inhabitants in north-west Scania, and is Sweden's closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city...	20 mins
Rostock Rostock Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...  - Gedser Gedser Gedser is a town at the southern tip of the Danish island of Falster in the Guldborgsund Municipality in Sjælland region. It is the southernmost town in Denmark. The town has a population of 809...	1 hr 45 mins
Rostock Rostock Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...  - Trelleborg Trelleborg Trelleborg is a locality and the seat of Trelleborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 25,643 inhabitants in 2005. It is the southernmost town in Sweden.-History:...	5 hrs 45 mins
Rostock Rostock Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...  - Hangö	35 hrs
Travemünde Travemünde Travemünde is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, and the Danes subsequently strengthened it. It became a town in 1317 and in...  - Ventspils Ventspils Ventspils is a city in northwestern Latvia in the Courland historical region of Latvia, the sixth largest city in the country. As of 2006, Ventspils had a population of 43,806. Ventspils is situated on the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, and has an ice-free port...	28 hrs 30 mins
Travemünde Travemünde Travemünde is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, and the Danes subsequently strengthened it. It became a town in 1317 and in...  - Liepāja Liepaja Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...	28 hrs 30 mins
Trelleborg Trelleborg Trelleborg is a locality and the seat of Trelleborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 25,643 inhabitants in 2005. It is the southernmost town in Sweden.-History:...  - Sassnitz Sassnitz Sassnitz is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2007 was 10,747....	4 hrs
Nynäshamn Nynäshamn - References :...  - Ventspils Ventspils Ventspils is a city in northwestern Latvia in the Courland historical region of Latvia, the sixth largest city in the country. As of 2006, Ventspils had a population of 43,806. Ventspils is situated on the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, and has an ice-free port...	11 hrs

Fleet

Scandlines operate a large fleet of RORO vessels.

Name	Built	Tonnage	Passengers	Notes
Ask	1982	13,294 GRT	186	Laid up
Aurora	1982	20,381 GRT	12
Berlin	2012	?	1,500	Due for delivery May 2012
Copenhagen	2012	?	1,500	Due for delivery May 2012
Deutschland	1997	15,187 GRT	1,200
Hamlet	1997	10,067 GRT	1,000
Holger Danske	1976	2,779 GRT	12
Kronprins Frederik MS Kronprins Frederik Kronprins Frederik is a car ferry that operates between the Danish town of Gedser and the German city of Rostock.-History:The Kronprins Frederik was built in 1980 at the Nakskov Skibsværft in Nakskov. She entered service in April 1981 operating on the Nyborg - Korsør route.Following the opening of...	1981	16,071 GRT	1,082
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	1996	37,987 GRT	600
Merchant	1982	21,195 GRT	12
Prins Joachim	1980	16,071 GRT	977
Prins Richard	1997	14,822 GRT	1,140
Prinsesse Benedikte	1997	14,822 GRT	1,140
Sassnitz	1989	21,154 GRT	875
Schleswig-Holstein	1997	15,187 GRT	1,200
Scottish Viking	2009	26,500 GRT	880
Skåne	1998	42,705 GRT	600
Trelleborg	1981	20,028 GRT	800
Tycho Brahe MF Tycho Brahe M/F Tycho Brahe is a Danish train and car ferry that operates between Helsingør, Denmark and Helsingborg, Sweden, a distance of just 5 km. M/F Tycho Brahe has been in use since 1991. The ship is bidirectional, therefore she can change direction without turning around, so no time is lost for this...	1991	11,148GRT	1,250
Urd	1981	13,144 GRT	186
Watling Street	2008	26,904 GRT	830