The ship was put into service in June 1972 as Westphalia by AG Ems . The originally 63 meter long ferry was extended in 1980 and used between Borkum and Emden until 1990. At the beginning of the 1990s , the Westphalia drove for three years on sales trips from Rostock and between Kappeln and Sønderborg on the Baltic Sea , before returning to the Ems and the old route in 1993 .
In 2006 the ship was renamed Helgoland and used as a replacement for the Wilhelmshaven daily between Wilhelmshaven and Helgoland in the summer months . This connection was discontinued at the end of the 2014 season. Since then, the ferry has been available all year round for connections to Borkum; this was urgently needed in particular as a representation for the East Frisia under renovation in the winter half of 2014/2015.
Since the beginning of 2016, the ship has been back in regular service between Emden, Eemshaven and Borkum as Westphalia .
