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DENMARK

DFDS : Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab A/S
DFDS was formed in 1866 following the merger of three leading Danish shipping companies. The company grew organically and through acquisition to provide local shipping services within Denmark and to neighbouring countries, including a ferry service to the UK, all of which continue today. It also engaged in deep-sea cargo trade, becoming one of the world's major shipping companies. In 1898 it formed the Scandinavia-America line when it took over the existing Thingvalla Line and operated a liner service to New York City.
DFDS operated the Oresund ferry service (Copenhagen - Malmo) from 1874-1900. See below for details

Scottish-built paddle steamers :

Flora (1867-1871) 
Smith & Rodger (Govan) 1849. 155.4 ft : 160 GT.  Built as Queen of Scots  but Renamed Flora in 1851 by HP Prior of Copenhagen. Heavily rebuilt in 1865. Returned to the UK in 1871 and converted to a lighter

Diana (1867-1871) 
J Henderson & Son (Renfrew) 1851. 156 ft : 170 GT. Steeple engine. Sailed out of Copenhagen for Koch / Koch & Henderson . Returned to the UK in 1871 and sold for use in Nigeria shortly afterwards

Zampa (1867-1876)
Caird & Co (Greenock) 1855. 190 ft : 180 GT. Steeple engine. Based in Copenhagen, latterly with HP Prior. Scrapped in 1876

Aalborg (1867-1876)
Caird & Co (Greenock) 1859. 150 ft : 192 GT. Oscillating engine 30 and 30 in x 42 in. Operated by HP Prior. Scrapped in 1876

Kobenhavn (1870-1904)
Henderson & Coulborne (Renfrew) 1869. 196 ft : 449 GT. Diagonal engine 27 and 57 in x 60 in. HP inside LP cylinder. Sold for use at Odessa

Zampa (1875-1911)
Gourlay Bros (Dundee) 1875. 196.4 ft : 358 GT. Oscillating engine 30 and 50 in x 42 in. Scrapped in 1911

Rieberhuus (1875-1884 when converted to a screw steamer)
Gourlay Bros (Dundee) 1875. 199 ft : 615 GT. Oscillating engine 32 and 56 in x 54 in. Converted in 1884. Sold in 1918. Scrapped in 1920 after a collision
Opened the Esjberg to Harwich route in 1880

Koldinghuus (1883-1903)
Lobnitz & Co (Renfrew) 1883. 269.1 ft : 1057 GT. Oscillating engine 32 and 53 in x 90 in.
Opened a new route from Esjberg to Newcastle in 1886
Laid up in 1903 after a grounding near on Fano island approaching Esbjerg on a run from Harwich
Renamed Depotskib 1 in 1904 and sold for scrapping in 1906

Tees-built paddle steamer :

Dronningen (1888-1916)
Raylton Dixon & Co (Middlesbrough) 1876.  183.8 ft : 371 GT.  Compound diagonal 29 and 55 in x 48 in by T Richardson & Sons
Built for independent use at Kristansand, Norway (DS Dronningen company owned by HG Hirsebom)
Sold to DFDS and based at Aarhus
Sold in 1916 and converted to a twin-screw motor vessel for fruit and vegetable export from Kalundborg
Scrapped in 1918



Dronningen : From the collection of the M/S Maritime Museum of Denmark. Licensed by CC  SA 2.0
Oresund Crossing :  Copenhagen - Malmo (Sweden)

Det Forenede Dampskibssellskab (DFDS) / Oresundsbolaget

The Oresund crossing was operated by the Danish DFDS company from 1874 until 1900 when a joint Danish-Swedish venture, the "Oresundsbolaget", took over the service. The company was a consortium of one  "Oresund" company from each country.  The Swedish vessels were the Lund (1861), Malmo (1870), Hveen (1882), Saltsholm (1882) and Helsingborg (1884)

Horatio (1874-1883) Built by R Napier & Sons (Govan) in 1851.
Length 41.4 m : 126 GT
Originally a private yacht in the UK named Sea Serpent. Operated by ownes in Hull, England from 1856 until late 1858
Operated out of Helsingor until 1874 when taken over by DFDS

Stockholm (1864-1875)
Built by Motala Shipyard, Motala, Sweden in 1850 for Service from Stockholm to Gothenburg on the Gota Canal but at Malmo from 1866
Taken over by DFDS from 1874
Converted to screw propulsion in 1875-1894 to run Helsingborg-Helsingor for DFDS). Converted to cargo ship in 1894. Operated at Gothenburg, Sweden from 1894-1900 and in Russia from 1900-1909

Oresund (1874-1900)
A McMillan & Son (Dumbarton) in 1871 as Lorne for Glasgow owner. 211.6 ft : 255 GT. Engine by J&G Thomson (Govan). 2 cyl oscillating
Reengined in 1875 in Denmark by Burmeister & Wain. Scrapped in 1902

Gylfe (1874-1923)
Built by Burmeister & Wain at Copenhagen
Length 48.6 m : 271 GT.  Lengthened by builders in 1892 to 60.0 m : 387 GT
Ordered by the Dampskibsselskabet Kjobenhavn - Malmo but delivered to DFDS
Sold to the Swedish Oresund Company in 1900
Returned to ownership of the Danish Oresund Companuy in 1919
Scrapped at Kiel in 1923




Gefion (1874-1931)
Built by Burmeister & Wain at Copenhagen
Length 48.6 m : 274 GT.  Lengthened by builders in 1891 to 60.0 m : 385 GT
Ordered by the Dampskibsselskabet Kjobenhavn - Malmo but delivered to DFDS
Sold to Valdemar Fredrik Gronlund in late 1931. Owned until January 1933 when sold to J & N Nilssen of Fredrikstad, Norway and scrapped later that year

Gjedser (1889-1904)
Workman, Clark & Co (Belfast) 1887.  226.9 ft : 419 GT. Diagonal engine 44 and 44 in x 66 in by Hutson & Corbett (Glasgow)
Built for the Belfast, Bangor & Larne Steamboat Company
With DFDS from 1889 to 1900 and then with A/S DS Oresund until 1904
Engine removed and laid up at Hamburg. Renamed Volker in 1913 when she became an accommodation vessel
Used as a storage vessel at Kiel from 1916 until 1928



Above : Gjedser in a commercial post card. Istvan Radi collection

Danish State Railways ferry services
Vessels with one railway track along their length
Oresund Crossing :  Helsingor - Helsingborg (Sweden)

Kronprinsesse Louise (1892-1902 and 1922-1935)
Ran a short time on Masnedo-Orehoved after built in 1891 at Helsingor. Length 52.54 m, extended to 63.85 m in 1905
Spend twenty years on the Fredericia to Strib (Little Belt) ferry service for Danish State Railways
Scrapped in Aarhus in 1935

Thyra (1893-1898) .
Built by Burmeister & Wain. Length 52.54 m,
Moved to Masnedo-Orehoved. Extended to 65.62 m in 1903

Kronprins Frederik (1898-1922) to Fredericia-Strib and Oddesund (1933-1938)  Length 54.87 m

Little Belt Crossing - Fredericia - Strib

Kronprinsesse Louise (1902-1922 and 1935)

Storstrom Crossing : Masnedo - Orehoved

Thyra (1898-1937)  ex- Oresund Crossing (Helsingor)

Alexandra (1892-1935)

Baltic Sea Crossing : Gedser to Warnemunde (Germany)
Joint service with Mecklenburg's state railways (from 1920 the Deutsche Reichsbahn
Passenger paddle steamers with light cargo handling facilities from 1885 until 1903. Railway carriage ferries from 1903

See link

Other Danish Paddle Steamers

Konigin Caroline Amalie (1843-1862)
Built in 1843 in the UK
Length : 46 m
Built for Karlshutte in Flensburg (now Germany) and sailed between Flensburg, Copenhagen and Aarhus
Taken over by the Danish Navy in 1848
From 1851 sailed for the JJ Danielsen shipping company of Flensburg until 1861 when sold to HH Roller at Rendsburg
Sold to HAPAG at Hamburg. Germany in 1862 and used as a tender and for sailings to the German North Sea beach resorts as Groden
Rebuilt as a lighter in 1866, sailing on until 1877

Dronning Alexandrine (1920-1931)
Built in 1883 by G Howaldt at Kiel
Length 29 m (extended to 32.05m  in 1884)
Engine : compound diagonal
Operated on ferry services to the Island of Fohring (Dagebuell to Wyk) by the Fohringer Dampfschiffahrt Gesellschaft until 1894 when it moved to Stettin to the JF Breunlich company
In 1896 it was transferred to the Lubzin-Berglander Dampfchiffs Verein and later to the local owners Josef Bahlke (1906) who renamed her Grossherzog Friedrich Franz and then to Carl Schroeder (1911)
In 1920 the ship was sold to Danish interests and in 1923 to the Aktieselskabet Lillebelt-Overfahrten based at Assens who renamed her Dronning Alexandrine
Scrappped in 1931 in Svendborg

Salvage vessel

Harriet
Built in 1856 by Richardson, Duck & Co at Thornaby-on-Tees. Engine by Thompson & Woods
102.2 ft : 108 GT
Built for the Fredrikstad & Sarpsborg Dampskibsselskab (Norway) as Glommen
Sold in 1862 to Arvesen Horjen and Enhus of Christiania (now Oslo, Norway)
Sold in 1867 to Oscar Petersen (Kastrup Bjergnings Kompagni) at Kastrup, Denmark, as a salvage vessel and renamed Harriet
Sold in 1890 to Svitzer at Copenhagen and converted to a barge
Scrapped in 1909
Return to
Historical Database