Scandlines

Scandlines is a German-Danish shipping line operating the Rødby-Puttgarden and Gedser-Rostock routes between Denmark and Germany. With six hybrid ferries, the company owns the largest hybrid ferry fleet in the world.

Scandlines runs two key ferry links between Germany and Denmark. The Puttgarden-Rødby route connects the island of Fehmarn with the Danish island of Lolland and is served by the ferries M/V Deutschland, M/V Prinsesse Benedikte, M/V Prins Richard and M/V Schleswig-Holstein. The ferries M/F Berlin and M/F Copenhagen run on the Rostock-Gedser route.

The company has taken a pioneering role in eco-friendly propulsion. In 2013, the first ferry on the Puttgarden-Rødby route was converted to hybrid power, followed by the other three passenger ferries in 2014. The new ferries built for the Rostock-Gedser route in 2016 were designed as hybrid vessels from the outset. The conversion cuts CO2 emissions by around 15,000 tonnes a year.

In 2022, the two ferries on the Gedser-Rostock route were fitted with 30-metre rotor sails that work on the Flettner principle and support the ships' propulsion. Since 10 March 2026, the battery-electric freight ferry The Baltic Whale has also run on the Puttgarden-Rødby route, christened in Rødbyhavn in January 2026: its 10 MWh battery system takes it across without direct emissions. The conversion of the two Fehmarn Belt ferries to plug-in hybrid, with electrical systems from Wärtsilä, has been under way since 2025. The Deutschland has been converted and now covers most of its energy needs with electricity, the Schleswig-Holstein is to follow; shore power installations in Puttgarden and Rødby charge the batteries while the ships are berthed. Scandlines aims to run the Puttgarden-Rødby route emission-free by 2030 and all its routes without direct emissions by 2040.