The ferry was built in 1978 under construction number 1421 as a modified replica of the Schleswig-Holstein completed in 1972 for the Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei (WDR) at the Husumer Schiffswerft GmbH in Husum . The christening of the ship took place on February 24, 1978, the day of the launch , in the name of Nordfriesland . Godmother was Christel Zorn. On April 7, 1978 the ship was delivered to the shipping company. Since then, the ferry has been sailing between the mainland port of Dagebüll and the islands of Föhr and Amrum .
In February and March 1987 the ship was lengthened by 9.90 m at the Meyer Werft in Papenburg , after the Uthlande had already been successfully lengthened in 1986. The conversion served to increase the capacity. For the first time, a handicapped-accessible elevator was installed on a ship belonging to the Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei .
Raja 1
In 1995 the Nordfriesland was sold to Thailand , where it operates as Raja 1 between Don Sak and the island of Ko Samui .