FRS (company)

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FRS GmbH & Co, KG

logo
legal form GmbH & Co. KG
founding 1991
Seat Flensburg , Germany
management Christian Baumberger, Götz Becker, Jan Kruse ( managing directors )
Number of employees 1432 (2018)
sales 211.9 million euros (2018)
Branch Passenger traffic , shipping
Website www.frs.world/

The FRS GmbH & Co. KG (formerly Förde Reederei Seetouristik , internationally known as Fast Reliable Seaways agierend) is a German shipping company . It emerged from the merger of Förde Reederei GmbH, founded in 1935, and KG Seetouristik, founded in 1958 .

Since then, FRS has developed from a regional passenger shipping company into an internationally active group of companies and is active in the ferry shipping sector in Europe, Asia and North America through subsidiaries . In addition to conventional ferries , it is increasingly using high-speed ferries (HSC).

FRS operates national and international ferry and catamaran connections and transports around 7.9 million passengers and 2.1 million vehicles per year. In addition, FRS is still active in the areas of offshore logistics, port management, crewing and maritime management consulting.

history

FRS administration building in Flensburg

Predecessor company

Förde-Reederei GmbH

The roots of the company's history go back to 1866. In 1935 around one hundred Flensburg merchants founded the Förde-Reederei GmbH in order to continue the traffic of the troubled Flensburg-Ekensunder Steamship Company (FEDG) on the Flensburg Fjord , which had already started this in 1866.

In the 1950s, shipping on the Flensburg Fjord was expanded with tours to Denmark , the so-called " butter trips ". These tours were mainly used as an opportunity for duty free shopping on board the ships.

In the 1960s, several newbuildings were commissioned for this traffic and in the 1970s additional large passenger ships with a capacity of up to 1200 passengers were acquired. At times up to 22 ships were used for shopping trips between Germany and Denmark, with the option of purchasing small and large customs rations.

1979 The Förde shipping company took over the Rømø- Sylt traffic.

KG Seetouristik GmbH & Co. KG

The company was founded in 1958. From 1984 the company was involved in Heligoland traffic.

Förde Reederei Seetouristik GmbH & Co. KG

On January 1, 1991, Förde-Reederei GmbH KG Seetouristik merged to form the joint venture Förde Reederei Seetouristik GmbH & Co. KG (FRS). The reason for this was the impending discontinuation of duty-free shopping in July 1999. In the course of a change of name, the new company name "FRS GmbH & Co. KG" was inaugurated in 2020.

After German reunification, FRS took over Weiß Flotte GmbH in Stralsund in 1991 . In 2000, catamaran traffic began in the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco , and in 2008 two high-speed catamarans went into operation for the Sultanate of Oman . From 2002 onwards, FRS was involved in the supply of offshore wind farms by founding FRS Offshore GmbH & Co. KG , and from 2012 in a joint venture with Windcat Workboats in FRS WindCat Offshore Logistics GmbH . In 2016 it took over Clipper Navigation Inc. in Seattle , which operates ferry routes in North America (USA and Canada). Also in 2016, traffic between Miami Bimini , Bahamas began. This had to be discontinued in 2019 after allegations arose that there had been irregularities in the allocation of the lines. In 2020 the Elbe ferry Glückstadt-Wischhafen GmbH & Co. was taken over.

The group of companies employed 1,432 people at the end of 2018.

Headquarters of the White Fleet in Stralsund

German subsidiary

International subsidiaries

fleet

Baltic Jet (since 2008 Algeciras Jet ) - the stern with the closed car hatch
High-speed car ferry Nordic Jet ( in service as Ceuta Jet since 2008 )

The FRS uses different types of ships depending on the route. Are used fast ferries with both monohull and with double hull (partly as pure passenger ferries, some with car deck), conventional RoRo ferries , pure passenger ships (partially solar-powered), Crew Transfer Vessel and with Paule III in Berlin even a rowboat .

The former FRS ship Poseidon
The former FRS ship Baltic Star

Retired units (selection)

The units previously used by the FRS include:

Operated ferry lines

region route Ships) description
North Sea Havneby , Denmark - List on Sylt , Germany SyltExpress , Romoexpress Year-round operation
Elbe / North Sea Hamburg - ( Wedel ) - Cuxhaven - Heligoland Halunder Jet (2003-2017: Halunder Jet )
San Gwann (2020) 		summer season and December / January only
Elbe Glückstadt - Wischhafen Wilhelm Krooss , Ernst Sturm , Glückstadt , Wischafen Year-round operation
Baltic Sea Stralsund - / Schaprode - Hiddensee - Wiek (Rügen) / - Zingst Hanseatic City of Stralsund , Hiddensee Island , Schaprode and Gellen Year-round operation
Baltic Sea Bathing traffic in Stralsund Altefähr summer season only
Baltic Sea Taxi boat traffic around Hiddensee Störtebeker and Pirate water taxis On-demand traffic
Baltic Sea Warnemünde - high dune Breitling and Warnow Year-round operation
Baltic Sea Wittower ferry : Wittow North - Wittow South Wittow Year-round operation
Baltic Sea Stahlbrode - Glewitz Stahlbrode and Glewitz summer season only
Baltic Sea Schaprode - Vitte Vitte Year-round operation
Baltic Sea Harbor tours Stralsund Hanseblick Year-round operation
Baltic Sea Turku Archipelago / Lake Saimaa, Finland Vicars and Nestori Year-round operation
Baltic Sea Turku archipelago, Finland Nordic Duck Year-round operation
Baltic Sea Parainen Route, Finland Nordic Jet winter season only
Mediterranean Sea Algeciras , Spain - Tanger-Med , Morocco Tangier Express Year-round operation
Mediterranean Sea Tarifa , Spain - Tangier , Morocco Tarifa jet Year-round operation
Mediterranean Sea Algeciras , Spain - Ceuta , Spain (enclave in Morocco) Ceuta Jet Year-round operation
Mediterranean Sea Gibraltar - Tangier Med, Morocco Kattegat Year-round operation
Mediterranean Sea Motril , Spain - Tangier Med, Morocco Al Andalus Express Year-round operation
Gulf of Oman Muscat - Khasab Jawharat Masirah and Shannah Year-round operation
Gulf of Oman Muscat - Khasab Hormuz and Shinas Year-round operation
Gulf of Oman Muscat - Khasab Al Hallaniyat , Sawqrah and Masirah 4 Year-round operation
North pacific Seattle , USA - Victoria , Canada Victoria Clipper Year-round operation
North pacific Victoria, Canada - Vancouver , Canada Victoria Clipper IV Year-round operation

literature

  • Gert Uwe Detlefsen, Gerhard Moltsen, Alfred Schneider: From steam boats to catamarans. The history of Flensburger Fördeschiffahrt and all its subsidiaries . Hauschild-Verlag, Bremen 2000, ISBN 3-89757-079-3 .
  • Satisfied with the Helgoland services · Förde Reederei Seetouristik (FRS) ends the 2012 season - the future of the shipping company rests on several pillars . In: Daily port report from November 1, 2012, p. 4, ISSN  2190-8753
  • Eckhard-Herbert Arndt: FRS is aiming for ambitious growth targets · From spring 2018 larger Heligoland catamaran · “Halunder Jet” to America · New Elbe ferry line is coming . In: Daily port report of March 30, 2017, p. 4, ISSN  2190-8753
  • Gunther Meyn: FRS shipping company: 10 countries · 59 ships · 7.9 million passengers · 2,000 employees. In: Deutsche Seeschifffahrt , Issue Q1 / 2020, pp. 30–35, publisher: Verband Deutscher Reeder eV, Hamburg 2020.

Web links

Commons : Förde Reederei Seetouristik  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2018 , bundesanzeiger.de, accessed on July 11, 2020.
  2. ↑ FRS ferry company buys in North America. In: Deutsche Seeschifffahrt , Heft 3–4 / 2016, p. 10, Verband Deutscher Reeder eV, Hamburg 2016.
  3. ↑ Seattle-based Clipper sold to German company; new routes planned. Seattle Times , January 19, 2016 (accessed August 21, 2016).
  4. ↑ Balearia Taking Over Florida-Bahamas Fast Ferry Route , Offshore Energy, August 7, 2019, accessed August 4, 2020.
  5. ↑ FRS takes over Elbe ferry. Retrieved August 28, 2020 .

Coordinates: 54 ° 47 ′ 19.6 ″  N , 9 ° 26 ′ 3.2 ″  E