The Olau story

The brief history of Olau on the ferry crossing between Sheerness and Vlissingen is a tremendous success story. The historical sea-link between the two ports goes back as far as July 1875 when a nightly service commenced for passengers and mail. The Isle of Sheppey terminal was switched to nearby Queenborough in May of the following year but the service closed after the outbreak of war in November 1914.

Sixty years later Sheppey and Vlissingen were again united when the roll on - roll off vessel Basto V reopened the link. There followed a dramatic expansion of traffic which necessitated the use of larger and more luxurious ferries. Then, following a financial crisis in the original Danish company, Olau line was taken over by the owners of the West German TT Line. The first purpose-built ships soon entered service and generated their own trade. In October 1989, the first of the line's Super-Ferries were on station and Olau were able to proudly boast that the new Olau Hollandia was the largest ship of her type serving within the European Community. The magnificent twins which operated the service were a bold statement of faith in the sea-lane which links Britain and The Netherlands. Olau were confident that their success would continue... Those who experienced the ships would have no doubts whatever that this confidence was well-founded for without question they were the most opulent and comfortable vessels ever to serve on the North Sea.

Actual

Threads

Robert alias OLAU-fan opened a thread in 2005 about Olau. See the link.

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Olau Forum