Molslinjen

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 routes in the Kattegat were renamed to Molslinjen.

Molslinjen

Company type	Aktieselskab
Founded	1964; 61 years ago (1964)
Headquarters	Aarhus, Denmark
Area served	Denmark Sweden Germany
Key people	Carsten Jensen, CEO
Services	Passenger transportation, Freight transportation
Website	www.molslinjen.com

History

Molslinjen was formed by DFDS in 1964 sailings commenced on 18 May 1966.^[1]

A downturn in traffic following the 1973 oil crisis led Molslinjen into a pooling agreement with rival Grenaa-Hundested Linien in 1979.^[2]

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

In 1999 Molslinjen merged with Scandlines subsidiary Cat-Link.

Scandlines sold its holding to the Clipper Group in 2008.

In July 2011, Molslinjen announced it was to terminate the Kalundborg – Aarhus route and sell the two vessels operating the route.^[3]

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

In 2016 Molslinjen won a 10-year public tender to operate ferry services to Bornholm, and operations started in September 2018 under the name Bornholmslinjen.

In 2018, the ferry routes of Alslinjen, Langelandslinjen, Samsølinjen and Fanølinjen became part of Molslinjen with the acquisition of Danske Færger.^[4][5]

In January 2023, the Danish and Swedish competition regulators approved the sale of ForSea Ferries to Molslinjen for an undisclosed sum.^[6]

Fleet

Molslinjen

Image	Name	Built	Enterered service	Gross Tonnage	Notes
	Express 2	2013	2013	10,503 GT
	Express 3	2017	2017	10,842 GT	Sailed from Incat shipyards in Tasmania, April 2017[7]
	Express 4	2018	2018	10,500 GT	Built by Austal in Western Australia.[8] Austal ships do not have the centre bow that characterises the previous solely Incat built fleet.

Bornholms-linjen

Image	Name	Built	Enterered service	Gross Tonnage	Notes
	Express 1	2009	2012	10,503 GT
	Hammershus	2018	2018	18,009 GT	Operates on Rønne–Køge and Rønne–Sassnitz routes
	Poul Anker	1978	2016	12.131 GT	Operates on Rønne–Køge and Rønne–Sassnitz routes
	Express 5	2022	2023		Cost €83.7 million, Austal ship. Carries 1,610 passengers and 450 cars.[9]

Langelandslinjen

Image	Name	Built	Enterered service	Gross Tonnage	Notes
	M/F Langeland	2012	2012	4.500	Old livery
	M/F Lolland	2012	2012	4.500	Old livery

Fanølinjen

Image	Name	Built	Enterered service	Gross Tonnage	Notes
	M/F Menja	1998	1998	751	runs on HVO Diesel[10]
	M/F Fenja	1998	1998	751	runs on HVO Diesel[10]
	E/F Grotte	2021	2022	925	E-ferry[11]

Samsølinjen

Image	Name	Built	Enterered service	Gross Tonnage	Notes
	M/F Fynshav	1998	2015	3.380	Operates Samsølinjen full time, until the arrivel of M/F Tyrfing
	M/F Tyrfing[12]		2025		E-Ferry[13] launched in October 2024[14][15]

Alslinjen

Image	Name	Built	Enterered service	Gross Tonnage	Notes
	M/F Frigg Sydfyen	1984	2015	1.676	Full time service, until the arrivel of M/F Nerthus
	M/F Nerthus[12]		2025		E-Ferry[13][16]

Øresundslinjen

Name	Built	Tonnage	Passengers	Notes	Images	References
Tycho Brahe	1991	11,148 GT	1250	In service E-ferry (2018-)		[17][18]
Aurora af Helsingborg	1992	11,148 GT	1250	In service E-ferry (2018-)		[19][20]
Hamlet	1997	10,067 GT	1000	In drydock, to be retrofit into E-ferry		[21][22][23]
Mercandia IV	1989	4,296 GRT	400	Replacement & Freight		[24][25][26][27]

Former Ships

Image	Name	Built	Enterered service	Gross Tonnage	Notes
	Max Mols	1998	1999	5,617 GT	sold in 2024[28]
	M/F Samsø	2009	2014	4.630	Sold in 2025 [29]

Routes

Molslinjen routes

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

Molslinjen operates various routes around Denmark and surrounding countries, under a multitude of brand names.

• Molslinjen^[30]
  • Odden – Ebeltoft (55 mins)
  • Odden – Aarhus (1 hr 20 mins)
• Bornholmslinjen^[31]
  • Rønne – Ystad (1 hr 20 mins)
  • Rønne – Sassnitz (3 hr 20 mins)
  • Rønne – Køge (5 hr 30 mins)
• Samsølinjen^[32]
  • Kalundborg – Ballen (Samsø) (1 hr 30 mins)
• Alslinjen^[33]
  • Bøjden (Funen) – Fynshav (Als) (50 mins)
• Langelandslinjen^[34]
  • Spodsbjerg – Tårs (Lolland Municipality) (45 mins)
• Fanølinjen^[35]
  • Esbjerg – Nordby (12 mins)
• Øresundslinjen
  • Helsingør - Helsingborg (20min)