‘Lilleøre’ has been facing political headwinds for nearly a year. Now, there is suddenly support from the critical side
The Samsø ferry ‘Lilleøre’ has suddenly gained clear backing in the city council.
After many years as a political hot potato, it is now a united city council that stands behind the operation of ‘Lilleøre’, which sails between Sælvig and Aarhus.
Venstre and the Conservatives have otherwise advocated for shutting down the ferry, as the parties did not believe it was a responsible business for the municipal budget.
But now the rhetoric has suddenly changed from the two parties. This is reported by TV2 Østjylland.
– You could say we’ve done a U-turn, but we’re not in office to be popular, but to safeguard the island’s interests. We choose to take a new stance because it’s the best for the island. I can no longer see any benefit in taking the ferry out of service, says Venstre’s mayoral candidate Anita E.H. Olesen to the media.
Venstre and the Conservatives have been against the ferry since 2015, when the first plans for a fast route between Samsø and Aarhus were born.
The parties did not believe the operation would be profitable and that there was even a need for a fast ferry between Samsø and Aarhus city center.
However, the ferry became a reality and was put into service on the route in April 2021. The political ferry battle continued, however, even as late as the autumn’s budget negotiations, where the question of whether the ferry route should continue was on the agenda.
A narrow majority—excluding Venstre and the Conservatives—chose to preserve ferry operations into 2025.
The fast ferry ‘Lilleøre’ went into service in 2021 but has not been the success the shipping company and the municipality had dreamed of.
Last year, the shipping company posted a staggering deficit—partly because the ferry repeatedly needed repairs.
According to TV2 Østjylland’s calculations, the ferry was out of service every fifth day in 2023 due to repairs.
