Puttgarden ⇄ Rødby · 45 min · about 19 km
Puttgarden Rødby ferry live: where are the ships right now?
Prins Richard, Prinsesse Benedikte, Deutschland and Schleswig-Holstein: four sister ferries that shuttle across the Fehmarnbelt around the clock, and the map below shows where each of them is right now, with speed and course. Sitting in the lane in Puttgarden, or at home wondering whether to set off yet, this is the quickest way to tell whether your sailing is running to time.
- Live departure times
- Cars, campers, bikes and foot passengers
- Four hybrid ferries, a sailing every 30 minutes
Where are the ferries right now?
Puttgarden is at the bottom of the map, Rødbyhavn at the top, and the four Scandlines ferries are somewhere in between or at a berth. Click a ship for its name, speed and course; the positions come from the ships’ own AIS transmitters.
The map opens centred on one ferry, with the line of its recent track. Switch to another ferry or to the whole crossing with the buttons. Other ships in the Fehmarnbelt stay visible; the Scandlines ferries carry their names as labels. Normally three of the four are sailing and one is in reserve or in dock.
Live map: Puttgarden to Rødby
The map comes from VesselFinder and shows ship positions sent by the ships themselves (AIS). It loads after you click, because VesselFinder then receives your IP address and may set cookies.
The four ferries on the route
How to read the map
- Four ships, one route, 19 kilometres. The crossing takes 45 minutes, and for most of the day a ferry leaves every half hour in each direction. Then all four are in rotation: two at sea, two at the berth or on their way out. At night, with a sailing roughly every hour, two are enough.
- A ship in the middle of the belt is about 20 minutes from either port. One lying still at the berth in Puttgarden or Rødbyhavn is unloading and loading for the next departure, which takes about a quarter of an hour.
- The ferries are double-ended. They do not turn round; they enter the berth at one end and leave from the other. That is why you never see them swing in the harbour.
- The Fehmarnbelt tunnel construction site lies at Rødbyhavn, east of the ferry berths. Work vessels and barges on the map there are not ferries.
- When the wind gets up the ferries usually keep sailing; the Fehmarnbelt is short and fairly sheltered. In a gale Scandlines cancels individual sailings, and then there are gaps in the rotation. Departures are in the live timetable, wind and waves on the weather and sea state page.
The four ferries: Prins Richard, Prinsesse Benedikte, Deutschland and Schleswig-Holstein
Puttgarden Rødby is served by four sister ships, all built in 1997 for the route: Prins Richard and Prinsesse Benedikte under the Danish flag, Deutschland and Schleswig-Holstein under the German. They are laid out identically, so it makes no difference which one you get. In 2013 and 2014 all four were converted to hybrid propulsion with batteries alongside the diesel engines; that is what the green “Hybrid Ferry” lettering on the hull means.
| Ship | Flag | Built | Length | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prins Richard | Denmark | 1997 | 142 metres | about 1,200 passengers, about 360 cars |
| Prinsesse Benedikte | Denmark | 1997 | 142 metres | about 1,200 passengers, about 360 cars |
| Deutschland | Germany | 1997 | 142 metres | about 1,200 passengers, about 360 cars |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Germany | 1997 | 142 metres | about 1,200 passengers, about 360 cars |
The lowest deck still has rails: the Vogelfluglinie carried trains between Hamburg and Copenhagen until the end of 2019, and the ferries were built for it. When the Fehmarnbelt tunnel opens, Scandlines plans to keep sailing with three ferries and is converting two of them to plug-in hybrids. What you find on board, from the Food Express to the sun deck, is on the on board page.
Is my ferry on time?
Roughly, yes, and the map is how you tell. If the ship for your sailing is still mid-belt a quarter of an hour before departure, the sailing will be late, because it has to berth and unload first. If it is at the berth, it usually leaves on time. The departure times themselves and Scandlines’ departure status are in the timetable; delays and cancellations are announced there, not on the map.
Live map FAQ
How accurate is the position on the map?
The ships transmit their own position via AIS. On a free map like this one the position can be a few minutes old, and there can be short gaps. To see whether your ferry is on its way, that is plenty.
Which ships sail between Puttgarden and Rødby?
The four Scandlines hybrid ferries Prins Richard and Prinsesse Benedikte (Danish flag) and Deutschland and Schleswig-Holstein (German flag), all from 1997 and identically laid out. They sail the route all year.
Can I see on the map whether my ferry is on time?
Roughly. If the ship for your sailing is still at sea shortly before departure time, the sailing will be late. The departure times and Scandlines’ status are in the timetable.
Why do I only see two or three ferries?
At night there is a sailing roughly every hour, so two ships are enough, and one ship may be in the yard. By day, with a departure every half hour, all four are in rotation.
Found your ferry? The fare for your departure is in the booking, and online is where it is cheapest.
Check prices and book Car Standard: online from €61.10 · at the harbour from €111