Olau Line Ferry Postcards

This page is devoted to postcards of the Olau Line. An alphabetical list of ships shown on this page is shown below. The Table beneath gives links to complete postcard history pages on selected individual ships. Below the table are official postcards of the fleet in chronological order.

Olau Line was started by Dane Ole Lauritzen in 1956, owning tankers and cargo ships for chartering out. In 1973 he used the small ro-ro vessel Admiral Vig as Olau Vig between Ramsgate and Vlissingen to import cars into the UK. The following year saw the start of a service from Sheerness to Vlissingen, initially using the Norwegian ferry Basto V in a freight-only role. Basto V was a sistership to Calmac's Suilven. In 1975, the Danish sisterships Olau East and Olau West were bought, and passenger services commenced. Olau East was sold to Venezuelan interests within a year (she was scrapped in 1985), and various chartered and purchased ships followed. In 1977 attempts were made to start additional services to Dunkerque. These failed, and Olau Line was left with heavy debts.

The German owners of TT-Line bought 50% of Olau Line in 1978, which allowed services to continue. New funnel colours were adopted by the joint concern. In 1979, Ole Lauritzen sold his remaining stake in Olau to TT-Line, and tried to set up a new service from Ramsgate to Dunkerque. The now German-owned TT-Line acquired two purpose built ships, Olau Hollandia (1) and Olau Britannia (1) in 1981/82. These were replaced by the larger Olau Hollandia (2) and Olau Britannia (2) in 1989/90, the two finest ferries sailing out of Kent at the time. Traffic could not support such extravagant ships, and when cost-cutting proposals were blocked by the German unions, the route was closed in 1994. The two ships were chartered to P&O for services out of Portsmouth to Le Havre.


Ships on This Page:-
Basto V - 1974-75 (no postcards yet)
Expresso Olbia - 1980-81
Olau Britannia (1) - 1982-90
Olau Britannia (2) - 1990-94
Olau Dana - 1975-76
Olau East - 1975-75
Olau Finn - 1976-82
Olau Hollandia (1) - 1981-89
Olau Hollandia (2) - 1989-94
Olau Kent - 1976-80
Olau West - 1975-77
Wesertal - 1986-1988 (chartered)

Associated Pages:-
Color Line Corsica Ferries Eckerö Line Gotlandslinjen Grenå-Hundested Line
P&O Portsmouth
TT-Line
Viking Line
Ferry Postcards
Simplon Postcards Home Page

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powered by FreeFind Table of Ship Histories
Name Other names Built Olau Britannia (1) Bayard, Christian IV 1982 Olau Britannia (2) Pride of Portsmouth 1990 Olau East Hundested, Julle, Aldonza Manriques 1964 Olau Hollandia (1) Nord Gotlandia, Nordlandia 1981 Olau Hollandia (2) Pride of Le Havre 1989 Olau Kent Apollo, Gelting Nord, Benodet, Corbiere 1972 Olau West Grenå, Kalle, Corsica Marina, Kelibia, Nortia, Azzurra 1964 Olau Line Fleet List Basto V (1974) I do not have postcards of this ferry yet. If you can assist please email: simplon@simplon.co.uk Olau East (1975)
In 1975, the Danish sisterships Olau East and Olau West were bought to start Olau Line passenger services. Olau East was sold to Venezuelan interests within a year (she was scrapped in 1985).
A complete history of this ship is available on this link. Unidentified photographic postcard of Olau East. Olau West (1975-77)
In 1975, the Danish sisterships Olau East and Olau West were bought to start Olau Line passenger services. Olau West was sold to Corsica Ferries in 1977 as their Corsica Marina. A complete history of this ship is available on this link. Official Olau-Line (sic) postcard of Olau West, issued to cover both Olau East and Olau West. Photograph of Olau West. Photo: © FotoFlite. Unidentified photographic postcard of Olau West. Olau Dana (1975-76) I do not have postcards of this ferry in Olau colours yet. If you can assist please email: simplon@simplon.co.uk Olau Kent (1976-80)
Apollo was the first of a series of six similar ships delivered to Viking Line partners by the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg (a further three ships were delivered to a Mexican company). Apollo carried 1200 passengers and 260 cars. She served on the Kapellsk�r-Mariehamn-Naantali route, but was sold after only six years as traffic grew. She later served as Olau Kent (1976-80), Gelting Nord (1980-84), Benodet (1984-85), and Corbiere (1985-90), before returning to her original name of Apollo in 1990.
A complete history of this ship is available on this link. Official postcard of Olau Kent in original Olau Line colours, supplied by Han. Scan of Olau Kent in original Olau Line colours, supplied by A.J. van Gelder. Photograph of Olau Kent. Photo: © FotoFlite. Foto Dert (Vlissingen) postcard of Olau Kent. This shows the funnels colours as modified a second time after TT-Line acquired the whole of Olau Line. Photo of Olau Kent in 1977 supplied by Arjan Click on the image to see a larger copy in a new window Unidentified photographic postcard of Olau Kent. Olau Finn (1976-82) Foto Dert (Vlissingen) postcard of Olau Finn. J.Arthur Dixon postcard L6/SP.4398 of Olau Finn. Photograph of Olau Finn. Photo: © FotoFlite. Bennett Publications postcard 10567 of Olau Finn. This shows the modified funnels colours introduced after TT-Line bought into Olau Line. Foto Dert (Vlissingen) postcard of Olau Finn. This shows the funnels colours as modified a second time after TT-Line acquired the whole of Olau Line. Expresso Olbia (Charter: 1980)
Tor Anglia was built in 1966 for service on the Tor Lines "triangle" of services between the UK, Sweden and Holland. In 1975, Tor Anglia was sold to Trans Tirreno Express, due to the imminent arrival of the larger Tor Britannia and Tor Scandinavia, but was chartered back to continue Tor Line service until June 1976. She was then renamed Expresso Olbia, and used on the services Livorno-Olbia and Genoa-Palermo. From 1978, Expresso Olbia was chartered to Adriatica, B&I Line, Fred Olsen, TT-Line and Olau Line. TT Line gave her the marketing name of Robin Hood whilst in their service in 1980. She was sold in 1981 to Corsica Ferries and renamed Sardinia Nova. She remains in the 2000 Corsica Ferries fleet.
A complete history is available on this link. Expresso Olbia on charter to Olau Line. Photo: © Dirk Jankowsky. Photograph of Expresso Olbia. Photo: © Micke Asklander. Olau Hollandia (1) (1981-89)
Olau Hollandia (1) was built for the Olau Line Sheerness-Vlissingen service in 1982. In 1989 she was sold to Nordström & Thulin, along with sister Olau Britannia (1), for delivery in spring 1990. She was renamed Nord Gotlandia, and used on their Gotlandslinjen services. She was sold in 1997 to Eckerö Lines, becoming their Nordlandia, when the Gotlandslinjen contract to run Gotland services ended. A full history of this ships is available on this link. Official Olau Line postcard of Olau Hollandia (1). Official Olau Line postcard 02328/481 of Olau Hollandia (1). Official Olau Line postcard of Olau Hollandia (1) and Olau Britannia (1). Olau Britannia (1) (1982-90)
Olau Britannia (1) was built for the Olau Line Sheerness-Vlissingen service in 1982. In 1989 she was sold to Nordström & Thulin, along with sister Olau Hollandia (1), for delivery in spring 1990. She was resold to Fred Olsen, and entered services Bayard between Kristiansand and Hirtshals. Fred Olsen passenger ferry services were sold to Color Line in December 1990, and she was renamed Christian IV. Sold to StellaNaves OY Ltd, Helsinki and renamed Julia for Helsinki -St Petersburg service which soon folded. Sold to Fastnet Line for use between Cork and Swansea, starting in March 2010, still named Julia. Ceased service in November 2011 and sold to C-bed BV, London for use as a windfarm support ship renamed Wind Perfection. A full history of this ship is available on this link. Official Olau Line postcard of Olau Britannia (1) and Olau Hollandia (1). Official Olau Line postcard EV3 of Olau Britannia (1). Official Olau Line postcard EV4 of Olau Britannia (1). Olau Britannia (1) heading towards Sheerness in heavy rain Photo: �1988 Ian Boyle Wesertal (Charter: 1986-1988)
Wesertal is one of four sisters built by Rickmers for J.A.Reinecke. She was worked on charter to many ferry European ferry companies, and ran between Sheerness-Vlissingen between 1986 and 1988. Photograph of Wesertal at Sheerness, 1986. Photo: © Ian Boyle Photograph of Wesertal at Sheerness, 1986. Photo: © Ian Boyle Olau Hollandia (2) (1989-94)
Olau Hollandia (2) was the first of two sisters (the second being Olau Britannia (2)) built by TT-Line for their Olau Line service between Sheerness and Vlissingen. She was delivered in 1989, was 33336grt in size, and carried 1600 passengers and 575 cars. This was not significantly better than the ship of the same name that she replaced, although passenger facilities were considerably improved. The Olau Line service ceased in May 1994, and she was chartered by TT-Line to P&O, for use on services out of Portsmouth (primarily to Le Havre). She was renamed Pride of Le Havre, and remains on the service in 2002, running opposite sistership Pride of Portsmouth.
A complete history of this ship is shown on this link. Official Olau Line postcard of Olau Hollandia (2), issued for publicity visit to Hamburg, plus a sticker issued at the same time. Official Olau Line postcard of Olau Hollandia (2). Official Olau Line postcard of Olau Hollandia (2) and Olau Britannia (2). Elgate postcard 2SHE of Olau Hollandia (2). Judges postcard C13859X (produced for the Sheerness Ferry Terminal Kiosk) of Olau Hollandia (2). Olau Britannia (2) (1990-94)
Olau Britannia (2) was the second of two sisters (the first being Olau Hollandia (2))built by TT-Line for their Olau Line service between Sheerness and Vlissingen. She was delivered in 1990, was 33336grt in size, and carried 1600 passengers and 575 cars. This was not significantly better than the ship of the same name that she replaced, although passenger facilities were considerably improved. The Olau Line service ceased in May 1994, and she was chartered by TT-Line to P&O, for use on services out of Portsmouth (primarily to Le Havre). She was renamed Pride of Portsmouth, and remains on the service in 2002, running opposite sistership Pride of Le Havre.
A complete history of this ship is shown on this link. Official Olau Line postcard of Olau Britannia (2) and Olau Hollandia (2). Elgate postcard 1SHE of Olau Britannia (2). Very poor Judges postcard C14426X (produced for the Sheerness Ferry Terminal Kiosk) of Olau Britannia (2). Van Leers postcard of Olau Britannia (2). Simplon Postcards sp1144 (issued May 1993) of Olau Britannia (2), with Olau Britannia (1) in the background. Color Line - Corsica Ferries - Eckerö Lines - Gotlandslinjen Grenå-Hundested Lines - P&O Portsmouth - TT-Line - Viking Line Ferry Postcards - Cruise Ship Postcards - Ocean Liner Postcards Top of Page - Simplon Postcards Home Page �1999-2018 Copyright Ian Boyle/Simplon Postcards (all pages on web site) All Rights Reserved

Name	Other names	Built
Olau Britannia (1)	Bayard, Christian IV	1982
Olau Britannia (2)	Pride of Portsmouth	1990
Olau East	Hundested, Julle, Aldonza Manriques	1964
Olau Hollandia (1)	Nord Gotlandia, Nordlandia	1981
Olau Hollandia (2)	Pride of Le Havre	1989
Olau Kent	Apollo, Gelting Nord, Benodet, Corbiere	1972
Olau West	Grenå, Kalle, Corsica Marina, Kelibia, Nortia, Azzurra	1964