Øresundslinjen
| File:ForSea Ferries logo.png | |
.jpg) Tycho Brahe in Helsingør | |
| Industry | Shipping |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Øresund |
| Services | Passenger transportation Freight transportation |
Number of employees | 750 (2023)  |
| Website | www.forsea.se |
ForSea Ferries is a ferry company serving the route between Helsingborg, Sweden and Helsingør, Denmark. Until 2018 the company was called HH-Ferries Group, and the trading name Scandlines was used. The Helsingør–Helsingborg ferry route crosses the narrowest part of the Øresund, taking about 20 minutes to traverse the 4 km strait. The company owns five vessels, including the sister ships Tycho Brahe, Aurora af Helsingborg and Hamlet each of which has a capacity of 240 cars and 1250 passengers.[1][2][3]
In 2018 the ferries Tycho Brahe and Aurora af Helsingborg were converted to battery power. They are completely emission-free when in battery mode, reducing their total CO2 emissions by as much as 65%.[3][4][5]
In 2020 ForSea Ferries experienced a reduction of 80% in passenger numbers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of departures was reduced and seventy staff were made redundant.[6][7]
History
ForSea Ferries was originally established in 1996 under the name "Sundbroen" ("The Sound Bridge") by the Danish shipowner Per Henriksen. It was sold in 1997 and changed name to HH-Ferries. In 2001 the company was sold again, this time to the Swedish business group Stena, operating under the Scandlines brand. ForSea Ferries has around 230 employees, both Danish and Swedish. After further cooperational deals, the company was suddenly owned by the same cooperation as former competitors Scandlines. In 2011 the competition on the HH Ferry route finished with the larger eating the smaller, with the two Mercandias, IV and VIII being added to the Scandlines-HH Ferries fleet. In 2018 HH-Ferries rebranded as ForSea Ferries as Aurora and Tycho Brahe were reintroduced into service as battery-electric vessels. Around the same time as the rebranding took place, ForSea decided to ditch the Scandlines branding in favour of creating a new, independent brand image which sought to distinguish ForSea as a cleaner and greener service compared to Scandlines. [citation needed]
Fleet
 | This section has an unclear citation style. (August 2021) |
As of 2021, ForSea Ferries owns 5 vessels:
| Name | Built | Tonnage | Passengers | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercandia IV | 1989 | 4,296 GRT | 400 | In service | 
|
| Mercandia VIII | 1987 | 4,296 GRT | 400 | Laid up in Landskrona |  Old HH-ferries livery |
| Tycho Brahe | 1991 | 11,148 GT | 1250 | In service E-ferry (2018-) |
.jpg) Old Scandlines livery before conversion |
| Aurora af Helsingborg | 1992 | 11,046 GT | 1250 | In service E-ferry (2018-) |
|
| Hamlet | 1997 | 10,067 GT | 1000 | In service |  Old Scandlines livery |
References
- (in Danish) Det Maritime Danmark - HH-Ferries A/S (translation)
- (in Danish) "About us", hhferries.dk
Mercandia IV
- (in Danish) faergelejet.dk
- (in English) ferry-site.dk
- (in Danish) skip-siden.com
- faergejournalen.dk (with somewhat detailed history)
Mercandia VIII
- (in Danish) faergelejet.dk
- (in English) ferry-site.dk
- (in Danish) skip-siden.com
Aurora af Helsingborg
Tycho Brahe
Hamlet
References
- ^ Maritime Denmark. HH Ferries becomes ForSea. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Ferry Shipping News. ForSea Interview with CEO Johan Röstin. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ a b Helsingborgs Dagblad. "Vi tog mer ström än hela Helsingör på en enda laddning – så mycket kraft handlar det om. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ ABB. ForSea (formerly HH Ferries Group) completes conversion of the world’s largest battery ferries, powered by ABB. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Smart City Sweden. ForSea – Emission-free ferries. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ SVT Nyheter. Coronakrisen har minskat trafiken – stora uppsägningar hos Forsea. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Dagens Industri. Stora nedskärningar hos krisande rederiet – 70 anställda ska bort, Retrieved 10 February 2021.