DFDS Seaways ferries

DFDS Seaways

DFDS dates back to 1866, when the Danish financier C. F. Tietgen brought together smaller steamship companies in Copenhagen to form De Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab, the United Steamship Company. Few shipping lines in Europe are older, and the initials are still the company's name.

For British travellers DFDS is best known for its short Channel crossings and one long overnight route. The company runs Dover–Calais and Dover–Dunkirk, the Newhaven–Dieppe crossing, and the overnight crossing between Newcastle and Amsterdam, each with its own character: the Channel services are about speed and frequency, while the North Sea ship is a night at sea with a cabin and a restaurant.

The British network took its present shape through acquisitions. DFDS bought Norfolkline in 2010, which brought it the Dover routes, and in the same year it sold its Northern Irish operations to Stena Line.