The history of DFDS - from 1866 to today
DFDS was founded in 1866, when C. F. Tietgen merged the three biggest Danish steamship companies of the day.
From its inception, DFDS was a part of Denmark’s industrial and maritime history.
Since 1866, DFDS has been involved in domestic as well as international trade, transporting both freight and passengers. DFDS’ international activities started in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, followed later by the Mediterranean. Towards the end of the 19th century, routes were also established to the USA and South America.
Land-based transport and logistics also became a part of DFDS’ business activities as freight transport by land began to grow, and in the 1960s the company introduced a door-to-door concept for freight.
A passenger route between New York and Miami, based on a cruise-ferry concept, was opened in 1982 but did not live up to expectations and closed in 1983. Subsequently, the DFDS Group was restructured and the activities in the Mediterranean and the routes to the USA and South America were sold.
Since then, DFDS’ geographic focus for shipping has been northern Europe.
Land-based haulage and logistics activities were developed on the basis of organic growth and company acquisitions. By the late 1990s, DFDS Dan Transport had become one of the largest land-based transport companies in northern Europe.
DFDS Dan Transport, however, was sold in 2000 to focus the Group’s resources on shipping.
Since then, freight and passenger shipping has been developed on the basis of organic growth and a series of acquisitions. The most important investments have been in the Swedish passenger and freight shipping company Tor Line in the early 1980s, the Norwegian freight shipping company North Sea Line in the late 1990s, the Lithuanian freight and passenger shipping company LISCO in 2001 and the Norwegian freight shipping company Lys-Line in 2003.
In 2004, the company made a major investment in six ro-ro newbuildings from Flensburg Shipyard, which increased freight capacity and stimulated organic growth.
In 2007, a new management was appointed, and a new growth strategy was embarked on. After a period of setting the house in order and preparing for growth, DFDS fulfilled the strategic ambitions and goals by signing an agreement with AP Moller-Maersk to acquire its shipping and logistics company Norfolkline in late 2009.
The acquisition was completed in July 2010, making DFDS the leading integrated shipping and logistics company in northern Europe with a network of 25 routes and 55 ships in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel, with the logistics division providing transport solutions in most of Europe