Hjem

In 2016, DFDS celebrates the 150th anniversary of its foundation.

The company is among the oldest and most famous European shipping lines. Over the years, DFDS has made a very substantial contribution to the economy and culture of Denmark, Britain and Northern Europe. Throughout its history, it has carried agricultural exports to the UK plus general cargo and passengers across a wide network of North European overnight routes.

In addition, from the latter nineteenth onwards, DFDS was one of Denmark’s pre-eminent international liner operators, its route network spanning from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Americas.

During the 1960s, it became a pioneer of roll-on, roll-off shipping methods, bringing far greater efficiency to short-sea shipping and, in the early-1970s, it was among the first shipping companies to develop shore-based logistics operations with large fleets of trucks and associated infrastructure.


Based on a great deal of original research, this book documents and contextualises the managerial and operational history of DFDS in the contexts of Danish and European political
and economic history between the mid-nineteenth century and the present era.

It also analyses the design development of DFDS’ ships and associated infrastructure during the same time-span and the ways in which DFDS’ services were promoted and experienced
by users. Richly illustrated with over 600 photographs, many never previously published, it provides a unique insight into the development of a historically important company that continues to thrive in the twenty-first century.