This page
is devoted to postcards of Öresundsbolaget, concentrating
on ships built after 1900, when the company was formed. 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. Page 1 shows the conventional Öresundsbolaget ferries.
This page shows the fast ferries - hydrofoils, catamarans etc.
In 1900 the
contract for postal services from Copenhagen to Malmö and
Helsingborg passed from DFDS to a Danish/Swedish consortium generally
known as Öresundsbolaget, in practice made up from A/S Dampskibsselskabet
Øresund of Denmark, and Svenska Rederiakstiebolaget Öresund
of Sweden. Nine ships were taken over by the new company, namely
the Öresund (1871), Gefion
(1874), Gylfe
(1874), Gjedser (1887), Lund (1861), Malmö (1870), Hveen
(1882), Saltsholm (1882) and Helsingborg (1884).
Only the ship names with links are shown on this page.
From 1905,
new steamships Öresund (1905), Hälsingborg (1912), Malmö (1914) and Sverige
(1929) were delivered. After the war, the modern motorships Absalon (1955), Gripen (1956), Öresund (1960),
and Örnen
(1962) replaced the pre-war steamships on the Copenhagen-Malmö route, plus new ferries were built for a Limhamn-Dragør service. Eventually, all the conventional
ships were replaced by fast ferries - initially with hydrofoils
and later with catamarans. Ownership of the Swedish ships passed
to Scandinavian Ferry lines (SFL), SweFerry and Scandlines in
later years, whilst Danish ships passed to the Danish part of
Scandlines. A car carrying fast catamaran service also operated
between Limhamn-Dragør.
All services were rendered obsolete once the Öresund bridge
was opened in 1999.
Öresundsbolaget,
as part of Swedish Railways (SJ), also became involved with longer
distance routes such as Malmö-Trävemünde, but
these larger ships are not shown on this page, which only covers
local Sweden-Denmark services out of Copenhagen and Dragør.
Hydrofoil
built 1965 by Westermoen Hydrofoil A/S, Mandal, Norway, for A/S
Damskipsselskabet Øresund. Used on the Copenhagen-Malmö
service until sold in 1984.
Photo
by Ian Boyle at Copenhagen in August 1979.
Svalan
(1965-1983)
Hydrofoil
built 1965 by Cantiere Navale Leopolde Rodriques, Messina, Italy,
for Svenska Rederi Ab Öresund. Ownership passed to Ab Sundfart,
Malmö, in 1977, and to Scandinavian Ferry Line in 1980.
Used on the Copenhagen-Malmö service until sold to Cyprus
in 1983.
Hydrofoil
built 1965 by Westermoen Hydrofoil A/S, Mandal, Norway. Chartered
to Svenska Rederi Ab Öresund, for the Malmö-Copenhagen
service 1965-67. She subsequently served in Norway and Italy.
Grako
postcard 6708-6 of Westfoil, published 05/1965.
Photo:
Giovanni Trimboli.
Grako
postcard 6708-5 of Westfoil, published 05/1964.
Photo:
Giovanni Trimboli.
Tärnan
(1966-1983)
Hydrofoil
built 1966 by Cantiere Navale Leopolde Rodriques, Messina, Italy,
for Svenska Rederi Ab Öresund. Ownership passed to Ab Sundfart,
Malmö, in 1977, and to Scandinavian Ferry Line in 1980.
Used on the Copenhagen-Malmö service until sold to Cyprus
in 1983.
Hydrofoil
built 1967 by Cantiere Navale Leopolde Rodriques, Messina, Italy,
for A/S Damskipsselskabet Øresund. Used on the Copenhagen-Malmö
service until sold to Italian owners in 1985.
Official
Øresundsbolaget postcard of Springeren.
Photoof
Springeren by Ian Boyle at Copenhagen in August 1979.
Löberen
(1972-1985)
Hydrofoil
built 1972 by Cantiere Navale Leopolde Rodriques, Messina, Italy,
for A/S Damskipsselskabet, Øresund. Used on the Copenhagen-Malmö
service until sold to owners in Uruguay in 1985.
Official
Øresundsbolaget postcard of Löberen.
Photo:
Bent Winkel.
Viggen
(1973-1987)
Hydrofoil
built 1972 by Cantiere Navale Leopolde Rodriques, Messina, Italy,
for A/S Damskipsselskabet Øresund. Used on the Copenhagen-Malmö
service until sold in 1987. She is similar in design to Löberen.