The highlight of the first half of the year was the launch of the new hybrid ferry “Berlin”. The name symbolises both the strategic focus of the shipping company on the Rostock-Gedser route, and Scandlines’ faith in the future of the ferry service between Germany and Denmark.
The ship is equipped with an innovative and award-winning hybrid drive system. It can adjust its fuel consumption optimally to the capacity utilisation and thus significantly reduce its CO2 emissions. With room for 1,300 passengers, 460 cars and 96 trucks or a combination thereof, “Berlin” is the world’s largest hybrid ferry. The sister ship “Copenhagen” is scheduled to begin its service in late autumn. The investment is more than EUR 140 million per unit.
The traffic volume showed a very positive trend in the first six months of 2016. In particular the truck sector is growing fast. From January to July, the cargo volume on the route Rostock-Gedser increased by 11.2 percent. On the Puttgarden-Rødby route, an increase of 7 percent was recorded.
In June alone, Scandlines carried more than 40,000 truck units on the Puttgarden-Rødby route, and more than 10,000 truck units on the Rostock-Gedser route. The shipping company has been surpassing 10,000 units per month for the first time since 2007, thus breaking its own record.
