The HAMMERSHUS, built in 2018, is a ro-pax ferry with capacity for 740 passengers and 1,500 lanemetres. This lanemetre capacity is specified as a minimum in the current concession that Molslinjen (operating as Bornholmslinjen) holds with the Danish state for the freight-oriented lifeline route between Køge, in the Danish capital region, and Rønne on the Danish Baltic Sea Island of Bornholm. In recent years, freight volumes to and from Bornholm have increased to such an extent that the 1,500 lanemetres on the HAMMERSHUS are often fully utilized.

This is one of the reasons why Molslinjen, during the absence of HAMMERSHUS, has chartered the PATRIA SEAWAYS, which has 1,800 lanemetres. Molslinjen primarily bases Bornholmslinjen’s car and passenger capacity on high-speed vessels on the Rønne–Ystad corridor, where the route’s main ferry, the EXPRESS 5, built in 2023, is currently the world’s largest HSC/ro-pax in terms of capacity. On busy travel days, the Rønne–Ystad route is also served by the EXPRESS 1, an HSC/ro-pax built in 2009, which also meets the redundancy tonnage requirement in the concession for the vital passenger and car lifeline route between Rønne and Ystad.

Molslinjen also has the classic night ferry POVL ANKER, built in 1978, on standby in Rønne - partly as an additional backup for the Rønne-Ystad route, but also during peak season, at times as a third ferry on the Ystad route and as a second ferry alongside HAMMERSHUS on the entirely commercial route between Rønne and Sassnitz in Germany. However, POVL ANKER’s lanemetre capacity is only about one-third of HAMMERSHUS’, which means it is increasingly inadequate for the Bornholm freight market as a replacement for HAMMERSHUS.

Prior to being chartered by Molslinjen, PATRIA SEAWAYS was already operating in the Baltic Sea, specifically between Karlshamn in Sweden and Klaipeda in Lithuania. Molslinjen has previously chartered vessels from DFDS for the Køge–Rønne route. This also occurred during a similar period in 2021, when the ro-ro vessel ARK FUTURA replaced HAMMERSHUS, which at that time was also undergoing dry-docking in Frederikshavn. The choice of a pure ro-ro vessel back then must be seen in the context of ongoing travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

© Shippax