Our fleet
For reliable crossings
For more than hundred years Wagenborg Passagiersdiensten is carrying hundreds of thousands visitors to the Waddenisles Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. The modern ships Oerd and Sier will bring you in about fifty minutes to the hospitable Ameland. The ferries Rottum and Monnik will bring you to the low-traffic Schiermonnikoog. You will get there in only 45 minutes. Our fast ferries will do the crossing in 20 minutes.
Our fleet:
- Sier and Oerd (Ferries Ameland )
- Rottum and Monnik (Ferries Schiermonnikoog )
- Fostaborg (Fast Ferry Ameland)
- Esonborg (Fast Ferry Schiermonnikoog)
Sier
The MS Sier was launched on 1 October 1994, and was christened by the Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Annemarie Jorritsma. Since the first quarter of 1995, MS Sier has been plying the route Ameland - Holwerd. The ferry was built at the Bijlsma Shipyard and was named after a village on Ameland that disappeared into the sea. Sier was a fishing village on the most westerly point of the island, west of Hollum, which disappeared into the sea around 1730. The Sier is propelled by Schottel pump jets and is equipped with four Caterpillar 3508 diesel engines.
Oerd
The MS Oerd has been plying the route Ameland - Holwerd since 2003. The ferry was built at the Bijlsma Shipyard and is named after a village on the East point of Ameland, Oerd, now home to a refuge. The Oerd is propelled by Schottel pump jets and is equipped with four Caterpillar 3508TA diesel engines.
Rottum
The MS Rottum (formerly MS Sier) was built in 1985 at the Hoogezand Shipyard. The ship entered the service of the shipping company under the name Sier on 9 May 1985. It was deployed on the route Ameland - Holwerd and has plied this route for 10 years, together with its sister ship, MS Oerd. Once the Sier had served 10 years, Wagenborg acquired a new ship, which was again christened MS Sier. The old ship was rechristened Rottum and transferred to the route Lauwersoog - Schiermonnikoog and back.
Monnik
The MS Monnik (formerly MS Oerd) was built in 1985 at the Hoogezand shipyard for the route Holwerd - Ameland. The construction of its sister ship, MS Sier, had already started earlier at this same shipyard. In 2003, Wagenborg acquired a new ship, again with the name MS Oerd. This was a sister ship of the MS Sier built in 1995. The original Oerd was then rechristened as MS Monnik and transferred to the route Lauwersoog-Schiermonnikoog.
Fostaborg
Fast ferry service MS Fostaborg was originally built as a Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) for Wagenborg Sleepdienst and was christened 'Waterlines'.
In 2019, the ship was added to the fleet of Wagenborg Passagiersdiensten and put into operation as a fast ferry service between Ameland and Holwerd. A renovation was necessary to make the ship suitable to sail as a passenger ship. This was carried out in an extremely short period of time at the Royal Niestern Sander shipyard in Farmsum. The ship was put into service as MS Fostaborg on 5 July 2019.
The name 'Fostaborg' refers to the connection with Ameland. Ameland was once called Fostalân; named after the patroness and goddess Fosta from Frisian mythology. At one time there was even a temple dedicated to Fosta on the island. The second part of the name, 'borg' refers to the name of the family business: Royal Wagenborg, of which Wagenborg Passagiersdiensten is a part.
Esonborg
This ship was built in 2018 at the shipyard of Gebroeders van Enkhuizen in Makkum. The new ship was named 'Fostaborg' and was put into service in March 2018 as the first fast ferry service of Wagenborg Passagiersdiensten between Ameland and Holwerd.
In July 2019, the ship was renamed 'Esonborg' and used as a fast ferry service between Schiermonnikoog and Lauwersoog and also between Oostmahorn and Schiermonnikoog. Wagenborg Passagiersdiensten runs this last service at the request of Landal, as an extra service for the guests to Esonstad Holiday Park.
This fast ferry service, with room for 48 passengers, travels at a speed of approximately 40 km per hour. This means that the crossing between Schiermonnikoog and Lauwersoog takes about 20 minutes.