Mercandia Ships

THE MERCANDIA SHIPS

During the period from 1964 to 1996 Per Henriksen/MERCANDIA have built a total number of 137 ships and purchased 12 second-hand vessels.

The very first ship, m.s. MERCANTIC, was built by Denmark's oldest steel shipyard, H. C. Christensens Stålskibsværft A/S in Marstal, and was put in commission in 1964.
A sister ship, which was named m.s. MERCANTAS, was immediately ordered at the same shipyard for delivery in 1966. Both ships were open shelter-deck vessels, each 299 GRT.

m.s. Mercantic

The shipbuilding activities of Per Henriksen/MERCANDIA were continued at Frederikshavn Værft A/S / Danyard A/S, where over a period of 20 years more than 80 ships were contracted for.

m.s. Mercandian Nautic in Copenhagen

The first ships were shelter deckers of 299 GRT, but the size of the vessels increased, and in 1975 MERCANDIA decided to change from the traditional ocean-going cargo ships to the more future-oriented, modern
mercandia Ro/Ro Merc Multiflex
freight ferries.
These Ro/Ro Merc Multiflex freight ferries reached considerate dimensions, as the last ones had a length of 164 metres, a width of 24 metres, and a cubic capacity of more than 1 million cubic feet.

Mercandia Ro/Ro Merc Multiflex - Super Gigant

The MERCANDIA-ships have been employed almost worldwide. Some of the vessels have transported cars from Japan to China and other countries. Others have sailed along the South American coast with loaded trucks or as freight ferries on the North American lakes. Some transported fruit from Cyprus to Northern Europe, some ran on permanent MERCANDIA-lines or in the Pacific and Atlantic trade.
In 1988 three of the large MERCANDIA-ships, m.s. MERCANDIAN ADMIRAL II, m.s. MERCANDIAN GOVERNOR, and m.s. MERCANDIAN PRESIDENT, were converted into passenger and car ferries and chartered by DSB (the Danish State Railways) for the ferry services Halsskov-Knudshoved (The Great Belt) and Rødby-Puttgarden (The Baltic). At the same time the ships were renamed to: M/F HEIMDAL, M/F KRAKA and M/F LODBROG.

MERCANDIA II and IV crossing the Kattegat

MERCANDIA has also run own ferry lines. In 1990 KattegatBroen between Kalundborg (Sealand) and Juelsminde (Jutland) was established, and in 1996 SundBroen between Elsinore in Denmark and Helsingborg in Sweden. Prior to the opening of SundBroen MERCANDIA had five years of discussions with the Danish Ministry of Transport concerning the state monopoly on the ferry service between Elsinore and Helsingborg. Finally the EU Commission made a decision in principle that ScandLink could not maintain their monopoly on the service. The vessels were the so-called SuperShuttles that were purchased from a shipyard in Great Britain and reconditioned in Denmark.

Mercandian President and Else Dorthea Bager in Copenhagen

A very special part of this report on some of the MERCANDIA ships is the three-masted topsail schooner
MERCANTIC II / ELSE DORTHEA BAGER.
For many years Per Henriksen had been dreaming of purchasing one of the few remaining Danish-built wooden ships. In 1975 he found the schooner TALATA, which was built by J. Ring-Andersen in Svendborg, Denmark. This shipyard was also in charge of thorough restorations of the schooner, which has been in Per Henriksen's possession twice -
the first time named MERCANTIC II and later named ELSE DORTHEA BAGER, but it has been sold again.