Norway to lose half of the ferry routes

Half of the ferry routes to and from Norway, seven of 14 services, have or will be closed down in 2008. The development is partly explained by the low fares airlines’ growing market share and the over capacity in the ferry market.

“This is a European trend that is now coming to Norway”, says Arne Rident, scientist at Transportøkonomisk Institutt in Norway, to the newspaper Bergens Tidende.

Bergen is mostly affected as three of four services have been or will be closed down. Recently the Faroese shipping company Smyril Line announced that the weekly sailings between Torshavn and Bergen will be laid down in the beginning of 2009 due to the company’s financial situation.

Source: http://www.shipgaz.com