Drone video recorded by Michael Arleth Schmidt in July 2018
Østre Færge A/S owns two ferries
The large ferry Karen Orø sails between 5:10 AM and 7:00 PM and has a capacity of 40 cars and 200 passengers.
Karen Orø is 40 meters long and 10 meters wide and is driven by propellers on each side, but is piloted by 30 mm thick steel cables that are attached to the shore at each berth – these cables are placed on each side of the ferry through blocks that control the vessel. The distance between the berth on Orø and the berth on the Hammer Bakke side is 685 meters, and the crossing takes 6 minutes.
The advantage of cable piloting is, among other things, fewer crew members.
The small Østre Færge takes over at 7:00 PM for evening and night traffic and has a capacity of 10 passenger cars and 60 passengers.
Østre Færge is 20 meters long and 6 meters wide and is propelled in the same way but in a separate ferry berth next to Karen Orø’s.
Background history
Østre Ferry started up in 1745 and owner Svend Jensen, who resigned in 2016, was the 7th generation in the family. Originally, the crossing was made by rowboat, and if you needed to request the boat from Hammeren, you turned the bucket upside down to signal the ferryman. In 1930, Svend Jensen’s father, Peter Jensen, bought a motorboat.
The car ferry and the limited liability company Østre Færge A/S were established in 1962 by Peter Jensen. He raised money for the ferry by subdividing the ferry house’s land (Østre Færgevej 66) into plots for summer houses. The remainder needed was raised through contributions from a number of private individuals.
In 1962 the ferry had a capacity of 12 cars and 50 passengers and the daily operation was carried out by Peter Jensen.
In 1964, a second ferry with the same capacity was added to the service.
In 1967 Peter Jensen died. His son Svend took over the daily operations. In 1971 his brother Bruno took over, while Svend sailed as chief engineer for Elite Shipping.
In 1976 one of the ferries capsized in high seas, fortunately without loss of life but with material damage only. It was decided then to build a larger ferry for safety reasons, and also to meet the requirements of truck and bus crossings, which were growing to keep pace with the developing agriculture and the closure of Orø Dairy.
In 1978, the new ferry with a capacity of 40 cars and 200 passengers was put into service. The ferry was named Karen Orø after Svend Jensen’s mother.
1985 and ‘86 were very harsh ice winters which caused incredible damage to both ferries, their equipment and the piers, and this meant such great costs for the company, that the board of directors began to consider closing down.
In 1987 the board of directors decided to sell the company. At the same time Svend Jensen came back to Orø from his job at Elite Shipping and found out how bad things were for the company. He then tried to raise the necessary capital, which the board had deemed was required to let the company continue. But he was short of 20% of the amount. Svend then came to an agreement with Skibby Holding A/S to take over the ferry company. Svend Jensen became CEO and owner of the company Østre Færge A/S.
IIn 1988 the company began to move forward. A regular timetable and a steady shift schedule were established. This meant greater security for people on the island, and also that ambulances and fire engines could cross within 20 minutes of an alarm call.
In early 2018 the owner of Orø Kro, Michael Kousted, purchased Østre Færge A/S through the company CONBYG Holding ApS. The takeover took place in mid-April of that year.