On Tuesday 3 May it became official. The first of two new passenger ferries for the route Rostock-Gedser was named M/V Berlin by Scandlines at a ceremony in Rostock.
150 specially invited guests had a festive day with views of the beautiful Warnemünde passage from on board the new hybrid ferry, which is currently lying in her new berth in Rostock.
“It has definitely been worth the wait, and I am pleased that Scandlines kept their resolve in spite of the history of M/V Berlin and her sister vessel,” says Ines Rehberg, the Godmother of the vessel. Ines Rehberg is married to Eckhard Rehberg, a member of the Bundestag for the German government party CDU. By request of the Godmother, Scandlines presented her with a donation of 2,500 EUR for the Hanse-Tour-Sonnenschein, a support association helping children with cancer.
In the attendance of politicians, journalists, business partners and other stakeholders the vessel was named M/V Berlin. A name that marks the strategic focus of Scandlines and the belief in a future for a ferry service between Germany and Denmark and at the same time emphasises the short, direct connection between the capitals of the two countries.
“There have been a few bumps along the road,” says Søren Poulsgaard Jensen, Scandlines’ CEO. “But I am proud of the final result that we can present today on our oldest route with a history that reaches more than 100 years back in time”.
“Scandlines is now able to introduce a top modern passenger and freight ferry that joins the largest fleet of hybrid ferries in the world. As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait”, concludes Søren Poulsgaard Jensen.
The two new vessels represent an investment of more than 140 million EUR per vessel, and together with the expansion of the port facilities in Rostock and Gedser Scandlines secures the central transport corridor not only between Germany and Denmark but also between Scandinavia and Europe.
Last week, M/V Berlin completed a successful sea trial going from the Danish shipyard FAYARD in Munkebo on Funen via Gedser to the berth in Rostock.
Currently the effort continues intensely to finish the work, before M/V Berlin can be put into operation. In a few months, the sister vessel M/V Copenhagen will follow and thus complete Scandlines’ focus to future-proof the traffic between Berlin and Copenhagen and pave the road for further growth in both countries.