New ship in the North Sea

DFDS, one of Europe's largest ferry operators providing ferry and transport services, announces the acquisition of a new vessel, Acacia Seaways. The cargo ferry will sail under the Lithuanian flag in the North Sea and will employ Lithuanian crews.

“DFDS is constantly responding to market needs and updating its fleet. For some time now, we have been following the upward trend in sea ferries in the maritime freight industry. The North Sea is no exception. The company sold the smaller ro-ro vessel Gothia Seaways and acquired a larger Meleq from CLdN, which it renamed Acacia Seaways, says Vaidas Klumbys, DFDS Communications Manager for the Baltics.

The newly purchased ferry is 210 m. length, it can accommodate 262 trailers or just over 4 kilometers of wheeled machinery. Acacia Seaways belongs to the same ship class as the other ferries of the Lithuanian AB DFDS Seaways fleet operated by DFDS: Gardenia Seaways and Tulipa Seaways, built at the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft shipyard in Germany.

During the takeover of Acacia Seaways, the Lithuanian flag was solemnly raised. The ship will be serviced by 2 crews, each with 24 seamen. The company emphasizes that the transaction has created an additional 18 new jobs - additional forces are needed to service the larger vessel.

DFDS informs that after the acquisition, the vessel Acacia Seaways was leased to another company and will be operated in the North Sea between the ports: Zeebrugge - Purfleet - Esbjerg. AB DFDS Seaways fleet currently consists of 11 vessels employing about 700 seafarers.