The Frisia VIII was manufactured by the JJ Sietas shipyard in Hamburg-Neuenfelde as Sietas type 184 with hull number 1220. The ship was laid down on July 15, 2010 and undocked on September 10 of that year. The handover to the shipping company took place on October 14, 2010, the christening in Norddeich on October 28, 2010. The costs amounted to 6.5 million euros.
The ship expands the fleet of the shipping company Norden-Frisia. In addition to the increased freight volume of 350,000 tons to Norderney in 2010, around 23,000 tons of cargo are delivered to the island of Juist every year. Due to its special design, the Frisia VIII can also accommodate bulky loads and heavy road vehicles. The ship is also more high-sided than the older Frisia VII .
On March 23, 2012, Frisia VIII was the first ship to be awarded the Blue Angel for environmentally friendly ship design (RAL-UZ 141), among other things because of the use of a particle filter and an exhaust gas treatment system against nitrogen oxides .