KRONPRINS FREDERIK en route to Esbjerg © Søren Lund Hviid

Former Great Belt ferry arrives in Esbjerg for scrapping

FerryScandlines' ferry KRONPRINS FREDERIK arrived in Esbjerg on 27 July, where the 1981-built former InterCity railway ferry from the Great Belt route is to be scrapped. The 16,071 GT ferry has been sold by Scandlines to the Esbjerg-based ship recycling company Smedegaarden A/S. In March this year, KRONPRINS FREDERIK was replaced as the freight ferry for accompanied trailers on Scandlines' Puttgarden–Rødby route by the fully electric THE BALTIC WHALE, which operates alongside the route's four double-ended RoPax ferries.

KRONPRINS FREDERIK, which received new main engines during a major refurbishment at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg in 2004, completed its final voyage under own power after departing Puttgarden at around 19:00 (LT) on Saturday, 25 July. It sailed north of Skagen before arriving in Esbjerg on 27 July at 14:15 (LT).

In 1980–81, the then Danish State Railways (DSB) renewed its Great Belt passenger railway ferry fleet between Nyborg and Korsør with three newbuildings: DRONNING INGRID, PRINS JOACHIM, and KRONPRINS FREDERIK, all named after prominent members of the Danish royal family.

The three ferries made their final Great Belt crossings at the end of May 1997, when the fixed rail connection across the Great Belt, comprising a tunnel and bridge, entered service. Following a period of lay-up in Nyborg, KRONPRINS FREDERIK was converted into a pure car and passenger ferry at its original building yard, then Nakskov Shipyard, before beginning a new career for Scandlines on the Gedser–Rostock route. It later served as a relief ferry on Scandlines' two Denmark–Germany routes before becoming the permanent freight ferry for accompanied trailers on the Puttgarden–Rødby route.

KRONPRINS FREDERIK arriving at Smedegaarden A/S, Esbjerg © Søren Lund Hviid

Its two sisters, including DRONNING INGRID, which was built by Helsingør Shipyard, remain in service. DRONNING INGRID now operates as the Mercy Ships hospital ship AFRICA MERCY, although it is scheduled to be retired in 2028 when Mercy Ships takes delivery of the newbuild AFRICA MERCY II. PRINS JOACHIM is today operating as MOROCCO STAR for Africa Morocco Link on the Algeciras–Tangier Med route.

With the scrapping of KRONPRINS FREDERIK in Esbjerg in the coming months, there are no longer any former DSB ferries remaining in operational condition in Denmark. The last remaining example, the 1986-built STENA NAUTICA, originally delivered as NIELS KLIM for the Aarhus–Kalundborg route, has been sold by Stena Line to Åland-based Eckerö Line. The new owner has announced that the ferry will leave its current lay-up in Frederikshavn in early August to enter service on its new route between Långnäs and Naantali. STENA NAUTICA served as the last ferry between Grenaa and Sweden, ending 60-years of international ferry traffic from the Djursland Peninsula.

Denmark is home to several major ship recycling facilities. In addition to Smedegaarden, which most recently scrapped DFDS' 2000-built RoRo vessel FINLANDIA SEAWAYS, ship recycling facilities also operate in Odense, Grenaa, and Frederikshavn.