Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei Föhr-Amrum GmbH was established in 1885 and is among Germany’s leading domestic and island ferry service operators, linking the islands of Föhr and Amrum, plus the islets of Hooge and Nordmarsch-Langeness, to the mainland ports of Dagebüll and Schlüttsiel in the Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany on the country’s North Sea coast. Five ferries operate on two routes, namely Dagebüll-Wyk (Föhr)-Wittdün (Amrum) and Schlüttsiel-Hooge-Langeness-Wittdün (Amrum). W.D.R. also operates public transport services on the Islands of Föhr and Amrum, with all services provided without public subsidies. The origins of today’s ferry traffic can be traced back to the 17th century.

Since 1662 regular sea connections between the mainland and the islands of Föhr and Amrum have been provided. From the mid-1830s these services began to grow in popularity as the popularity of the seaside resort of Wyk increased. In 1872, the then Wyker Fährgenossenschaft opened its first service between Wyk and Dagebüll with the steam vessel Föhr Et Dagebüll. The W.D.R. was born on 14th March 1885 when 33 citizens met at the Redlefsen’s Hotel in Wyk to conclude the founding of the Wyker Rhederei-Gesellschaft. The company’s first new ship, the Nordfriesland, went into service for the summer season of 1886. Initially the ship sailed several times a week to the larger island of Sylt but was mainly employed to ferry traffic to the mainland port of Dagebüll, Schleswig-Holstein.

Due to the success of the new operator, rival Föhrer Steamship Company went into liquidation in 1889 after the other competitor, Wyker Fährgenossenschaft, had been taken over after just 6 months. The company now changed its name to Wyker Steamship Rhederei-Gesellschaft mit Beschränkter Haftung as sole operator to Föhr. Another company also ran services to Amrum but they ceased in 1971. In 1908 the W.D.R. introduced their new flagship, the Föhr-Amrum. This 211grt ship was able to carry 470 passengers. Nineteen years later the 285grt/740 passenger capacity Nordfriesland was introduced and she boasted a foredeck capable of conveying a car (yes, 1 vehicle) as the era of the motorcar was dawning. The vessel was later converted to carry four cars. Most were craned aboard but wooden planks were also used to drive vehicles on and off when tidal conditions permitted. Despite this new possibility, driving to Föhr and Amrum remained the exception even in the 1930s. For example, throughout 1932 only 36 cars were transported. The Second World War took a heavy toll on the region but in the 1950s the rejuvenation began. In 1954 a record 2,000 cars were carried to Föhr and Amrum and a fleet renewal got underway.

The Ro-Ro age arrived in 1962 when the new 41.60m long vessel Pidder Lyng entered service with capacity for 36 cars and 200 passengers. Today’s W.D.R. was formed in 1971 when the company merged with Amrumer Schiffahrts-AG (ASAG) that had been founded in 1960. ASAG’s 1968 built Ro-Ro vessel Amrum thus joined the W.D.R fleet and could accommodate 20 cars and 481 passengers. She remained operational until 1991. Dagebüll’s port and approaches underwent dredging in the 1970s to provide a ferry service at all tidal states. Between the early 1970s and mid-1990s W.D.R introduced various newbuildings, the last of which being the 2,287gt/1995 built Nordfriesland. A record year for carryings was 1992 when over 2.25 million passengers and 300,000 cars were carried.

The W.D.R employs around 160 members of staff and functions as a private-sector company controlled by 315 shareholders, including another German ferry operator, AG Reederei Norden-Frisia, which is the largest single shareholder. The city of Wyk auf Föhr, a former majority shareholder, now holds 31.9% of the W.D.R.

Renewal Programme

In 2008 W.D.R began to again consider a vessel modernisation programme following the completion of the previous renewal phase in 1995. The first ship order came in 2009 when J.J. Sietas KG Schiffswerft GmbH & Co. was contracted to build Yard No. 1228, which was delivered in 2010 as the 3,179gt Uthlande, a modern double-ended Ro-Pax ferry tailor made for shallow water operations on the Wadden Sea. The ferry became the largest to serve the route and was also the first double-ended ferry for W.D.R.

On 20th December 2011 a near sister vessel, the 3,202gt Schleswig-Holstein, was delivered from Neptun Werft in Rostock, part of the Meyer Werft group. Both newbuilds replaced existing ferries of the same name, as is a tradition with the W.D.R fleet. Following the success of the first two ferries, an order for a third was placed on 26th October 2016, again with Neptun Werft, prompted by the quality of the previous delivery, the Schleswig-Holstein. This shipyard was founded as Maschinenbauanstalt und Schiffswerft in Rostock in 1850. The facility merged with Witte & Abendroth (established 1866) to become Rostocker Actien-Gesellschaft für Schiffs und Maschinenbau in 1870 with a further change of title to Actien-Gesellschaft NEPTUN, Schiffswerft und Maschinenfabrik following in 1890.

After 1945 the yard became the East German State Owned VEB Neptun Werft. The yard was closed following the reunification of Germany in 1991 but was subsequently reborn as a shipbuilder under the name Neptun Industrie Rostock (NIR). NIR became part of the Meyer Group in 1997 and now concentrates on the construction of new River Cruise vessels plus coastal bulk/ferry contracts and sections for cruise ships being built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg. The operating name Neptun Werft was adopted in March 2006. The keel for the new W.D.R ferry, Yard No.S578, was laid on 16th December 2016, with the third ferry in the trio being assigned the name Norderaue. This choice broke with tradition by becoming W.D.R’s first all-new ship to receive a name new to the fleet.

The name relates to a tidal system and fairway in the North Frisian Wadden Sea between the mainland and the islands of Föhr and Amrum. Neptun Werft was anticipating a late 2017 delivery, much earlier than the expected February 2018 deadline. However, delays in the fitting out process saw handover postponed until 19th April. The newbuild, W.D.R’s 30th new delivery in its history, entered service on 4th May and replaced the 2,268gt/1992 built ferry Rungholt, which is withdrawn pending sale.

Greater Capacity

The 3,318gt Norderaue has an overall length of 75.88m, a moulded beam of 15.80m, a design draught of 1.95m and a hull depth of 11.85m. The ship is a modified version of the 3,202gt/2011 built Schleswig-Holstein. Despite the same dimensions, the ferry has a larger vehicle and deadweight capacity, made possible by modifying the vehicle deck (Deck 2) to accommodate four trucks side by side in lanes that are each 3.125m wide (5 lanes of cars can be loaded when no freight is carried). The added capacity will cope with increased freight demand on the route.

The stairways and lift up to the passenger areas are located along one side of the ship. A 30cm overhang along this side wall of the deck means that only cars can be loaded here as the clear height is 2.30m. The lanemetre capacity for cars is 350lm (75 cars) and 280lm for trucks with the deadweight capacity being 550dwt. The largely unobstructed, 12.80m wide vehicle deck has a clear height of 4.60m above the four freight lanes and is accessed at either end when the hydraulically operated 14m wide bow visor is raised (to the same clear height as the vehicle deck). The bow/stern connects directly to the linkspans for unloading/loading. Foot passengers use gangway doors at the passenger lounge level, thus keeping them clear of the Ro-Ro operations, vital when turnarounds are as short as 10 minutes.

All accommodation for the 1,138 passengers is located one deck above the vehicles (Deck 4) and consists of passenger lounges, café counter, at-table seating, luggage racks and toilets. Above the accommodation deck is a promenade deck at either end. Deck 6 forms part of the mid-ship tower upon which the wheelhouse sits (Deck 7) and contains Crew and Officer accommodation. The crew of 6 have single cabins with the onboard catering being provided by additional personnel. The top of the Bridge forms deck 8 and is 20.2m above the base line of the vessel.

Deck 1 houses the machinery areas with propulsive power being provided by four Caterpillar 3508C marine diesel units with a total power output of 2,312kW (3,140 HP). These turbocharged engines each have a length of 2,117.3mm, a width of 1,703mm and a height of 1828.9mm. The bore diameter is 170.0mm and the stroke is 190.0mm. The engines drive four 165R5 EC/100-1 Voith-Schneider propeller units (two at each end of the ship). Due to the shallow water operation and 1.95m draught the propeller blades are slightly shorter than on the standard units. Onboard power is provided by three Caterpillar C7.1 ACERT diesel generators.

W.D.R’s trio of new ships from this latest building programme meet high demands with regard to sustainability and have been constructed in accordance with the strict RAL-UZ 141 standards for the renowned German Blauer Engel (Blue Angel) eco label. The Schleswig-Holstein was the first Ro-Pax ship in the world to be awarded the additional RAL-UZ 110 (Blue Angel Environmentally Friendly Ship Operation) standard in autumn 2017 and the Norderaue is also now awaiting this accreditation. W.D.R. holds ISO certifications for its Quality Management System (ISO 9001) and it’s Environmental Management System (ISO 14001). The Norderaue uses low sulphur Marine Gas Oil and her annual fuel consumption is expected to be 25% less that the ferry she replaces.

Ceremonial Conclusion

Having made her service debut on the Dagebüll- Wyk (Föhr)-Wittdün (Amrum) service alongside her sisterships on 4th May, Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei Föhr-Amrum GmbH christened the Norderaue at the inner port at Wyk aus Föhr where W.D.R is based on 8th June. Heike Tholund, wife of the company’s Marine Inspector/Fleet Operations Manager, Captain Christ Tholund, acted as godmother.

The naming of the newest member of the W.D.R fleet concluded the latest fleet investment but the company also revealed that a 250 passenger capacity/16 knot catamaran is being built in The Netherlands for delivery in 2019. The Norderaue now serves alongside the Uthlande and Schleswig-Holstein on sailings to the Islands of Föhr and Amrum. A crossing from Dagebüll to Wyk on the Island of Föhr is 50 minutes in duration and a direct sailing from Dagebüll to Wittdün on the Island of Amrum taking 90 minutes. A crossing to Wittdün via Wyk takes 120 minutes. During the summer season, thirteen crossings operate each weekday to Föhr from 0500 to 1900 with a 2000 departure on Fridays. Up to eight weekday crossings are offered Dagebüll-Amrum plus six Föhr-Amrum sailings.

Special thanks must go to Frederik Erdmann at W.D.R for all the invaluable help with information, plus Jan Philip Eckmann for the lead photo.

Technical Specifications