With nearly 30,000 departures, a very busy summer is approaching for Molslinjen’s ferry routes in Denmark. This summer, 57.6% of all sailings will be carried out with electric power. Therefore, the upcoming peak season will be the summer with the highest number of electric ferries in history.
Nearly 58% of the trips will be made using electricity instead of natural gas or biodiesel during June, July and August. Last year, the figure was 25%, so in 2026 there will be 131% more trips with electric power.
“We are moving full speed ahead in the green transition, and for us it is a milestone that this summer we will make more trips with electricity than with diesel,” stated Carsten Jensen, CEO of Molslinjen, who had announced that all Molslinjen routes will be converted to electric operation by 2030.
The ferries Alslinjen and Samsølinjen are operated by fully electric ferries. On Fanølinjen, the most used of the three ferries runs on electricity. On Øresundslinjen, three of the four vessels run on electricity, while Bornholmslinjen, Langelandslinjen and the Kattegat fast ferries still run on diesel.
In Australia, a megacatamaran is currently being built that will usher in an electric future for fast ferries from early 2028, when they enter service in the Kattegat.
On the Øresund line, the third of the three high-frequency ferries connecting Helsingør and Helsingborg has just been electrified. Only one older truck ferry still runs on diesel, meaning that during the peak season, 95% of departures will be made with renewable electricity.
“We still lack the main routes in Kattegat and Bornholm, where technology now barely allows sailing with electricity on the large catamarans; but with the other routes, fully or partially electric, we expect to save the climate several thousand tonnes of CO2 this summer alone,” noted Jensen.
It is expected that 5.4 million travellers will take a trip on one of Molslinjen’s ferries during the three summer months of the peak season.
