Swedish ferry operator ForSea, formerly HH Ferries Group, has decided to convert Mercandia 4 from a passenger and freight vessel to a pure freight vessel.
Built in 1989, the 95-meter-long ferry can accommodate up to 110 cars and 383 passengers.
“This is a response to a long term decline in car and passenger traffic,” the company explained.
“In addition, customer surveys have over time demonstrated a clear preference of passengers to use the larger and more modern ferries.”
ForSea further said that the conversion of Mercandia 4 is an important step to secure the position of the company in the future. The ferry company also plans to introduce further initiatives in order to modernize the business and ensure its competitiveness.
ForSea has to date made investments to transform Aurora and Tycho Brahe to battery-powered operation. The two ships were inaugurated in November last year as the world’s largest battery-powered passenger ferries on the route between Helsingborg, Sweden and Helsingör, Denmark.
The Helsingør-Helsingborg ferry service is the region’s floating bridge and is operated with five ships — Aurora, Tycho Brahe, Hamlet, Mercandia IV and Mercandia VIII, all of which are environmentally friendly and equipped with catalytic converters.