^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Danish Shipping Companies (S)

DFDS Scandinavian Seaways (United Steamship Co. - Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab)
Scandlines So/r. Ferry Fynshav - Boyden
ScanDutch I/S
Schach Steenberg & Co.
SFDS af 1991 A/S
Skou International A/S
Det Store Nordiske Telegraf-Selskab A/S
Sundbusserne
Svendborg Bugser A/S, Fyn
Svendsen & Christesen
Svenson & Jesperson
A/S EM. Z. Svitzer
Sydfynske Dampskibsselskab A/S, SFDS A/S

DFDS Scandinavian Seaways (United Steamship Co. - Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab)

image by Jarig Bakker, 29 November 2005

From the website of the National Maritime Museum, the house flag of the United Steamship Co., Copenhagen. A rectangular blue flag with a white cross formy pattée. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn." Brown (1951) has: Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab, København.
Jarig Bakker, 2 September 2004

DFDS Scandinavian Seaways (Passenger Vessels), Copenhagen - blue flag, white cross formy.
Source: Loughran (1995)
Jarig Bakker, 29 November 2005

Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab A/S. More precisely Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab A/S which led to the current name of DFDS A/S being adopted in 1970.

by Michael Wilson

The flag is a dark blue and apparently still applies although another flag appears on the Josef Nüsse site of white with the white cross paty appearing on a blue circle in the hoist accosted with the red legend of "DFDS" over "SEAWAYS" and the flag base consisting of a biband of light over dark blue which would refer either to the DFDS Seaways Service instituted in 1971 or possibly the subsidiary DFDS Seaways A/S formed in 2000. It is in line with the vessel colour scheme but may not have been actually used at sea.

by Michael Wilson

A similar flag, but with the cross appearing within a white ring on a blue angled panel and the legend being blue and "DFDS" over "TOR LINE" shows on the company site for DFDS Tor Line A/S which was formed in 1998.

by Michael Wilson

Again on the Nüsse site such a flag shows, but without the "DFDS" reference, and this appears to relate to the fact that the company was originally Tor Line A/B of Sweden [though is now based in Norway] formed in 1966 with a white flag bearing a black and white target emblem above 2 blue wavy lines of sea, the Nüsse flag presumably adopted after the company was acquired at some point by DFDS and the website version adopted after the 1999 name change to DFDS Tor Line A/S. (It is now somewhat difficult to allocate such groups to one specific country without losing the thread).
Neale Rosanoski, 27 April 2004

Scandlines Sør. Ferry Fynshav - Boyden

image by Jarig Bakker

Scandlines operates ferries in the south Baltic sea; I don't know if it is based in only one country, or in all three (or even more) countries of Sweden, Germany, Denmark. The biggest ferry seems to be from Putgarten, on Fehmarn in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, to Rødby, on Lolland island in Denmark (and back of course), taking about 50 minutes. Also the ferry from Heldingør in Denmark to Helsingborg in Sweden is run by Scandlines. More information can be found on the Danish homepage of the company (http://www.scandlines.dk/DKFront/Front_DK) where I also got the logo. The flag is a white field with the company logo in the center.
Jarig Bakker, 3 August 2003

ScanDutch I/S (Copenhagen)

image by Ivan Sache, based on Joseph Nüsse website

White flag with a red three-bladed propeller in the middle.
Ivan Sache, 16 November 2002

Schach Steenberg & Co., Copenhagen

image by Jarig Bakker

A white flag, three blue wavy bars.
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels (Wedge 1926)
Jarig Bakker, 19 December 2004

SFDS af 1991 A/S

The current incarnation of the SFDS appears only to exist to operate the M/S Helge, which flies Red, a White double-bladed axe with details in Blue. I don't know what happened to the original SFDS, but the building of the SFDS (still showing the Axe above the door) is hired by the unrelated shipping company T&C Thor Chartering A/S.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 27 August 2001

Skou International A/S

image by Jarig Bakker, 21 October 2005
Source: Loughran (1995)

Skou International A/S, Copenhagen - blue flag, white "S".
Jarig Bakker, 21 October 2005

If the Skou companies were indeed the exact same, which it might be a diligent researcher could extract from http://www.leokragh.dk/Skou/Skou/Rederiet%20Skou/rederiet_skou.htm, at least Rederiet Ove Skou would appear to be the original name, and as such it would be worth preserving, IMO, even if the entries were to be merged. But I really wonder whether all those Skou companies could all have had their own specific flags.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 19 June 2013

Det Store Nordiske Telegraf-Selskab A/S

image by Jarig Bakker

Also known as The Great Northern Telegraph [or Telephone] Co. Ltd.

Store Nordiske Telegraf-Selsab, Copenhagen - red flag, white Maltese cross.
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels (Wedge 1926)
Jarig Bakker, 20 January 2005

Store Nordiske Telegrafselskab was quite a successful company in its day. In periods, it took care of parts of the Danish foreign policy towards Russia. The company has changed quite a lot since. The core of the company is now GN Great Nordic (at http://www.gn.dk , but the cable and telegraph activities are in GN Great Northern Telegraph Company.
Ole Andersen, 20 June 2001

A different flag is shown at Det Store Nordiske Telegraf-Selskab A/S as shown in Flaggenbuch (1939)

Sundbusserne

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 25 February 2021

Sundbusserne is a shipping line which only carries pedestrian passengers on the HH Ferry route between Elsinore (Danish: Helsingør), at north-east Zealand, Denmark and Hälsingborg, Scania, Sweden.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 25 February 2021

And other destinations on the Sound if there's interest. Basically, they
are the small passenger boats that fill in the gaps left by the big
ferries. The HH is their main-line, though.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 February 2021

Since 2010 they depart every hour from Helsingør.
They started under Norwegian flag in 1958, and during the time between the 1960s and the first decade of the second millennium they departured every 15th or 20th minute from each harbour. Owner until 2007 was A/S Moltzau.
In 2007 the shipping line was sold and renamed to "ACE-link". After a failed investment in two little larger ships they went into bankruptcy. But soon afterwards the line was restarted again with one of their older ships, M/F PERNILLE.

The new flag is white, blue “S” in centre and red disc in lower hoist and upper fly. The discs are representing Helsingør (hoist) and Hälsingborg (fly), the “S” is representing the Øresund between the two cities.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 25 February 2021

Except, that there's nothing to identify either of the towns. They are
just on opposite sides, so close together you see it if something big is
going on at the other quay.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 February 2021

I spotted this flag on 10 June 2016 in Helsingør Harbour.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 25 February 2021

Also:
<https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/FLAGS/se~hf15.html#Sund>
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 28 February 2021

Svendborg Bugser A/S, Fyn

image by Eugene Ipavec, 11 May 2011

Svendborg, a port in the S. of Fyn, Denmark, is home to Svendborg Bugser A/S (i.e. Svendborg Towing Co. Ltd). Website, English (url followed by quote from Introduction):
http://www.svendborgbugser.dk/
"Svendborg Bugser A/S is an independent family owned company, presently operating (...) a diverse fleet of tugs and pontoons of varying operational capacity (...) offer[ing] expert service on a diverse range of projects, including towages, salvage, cable laying, offshore wind turbine construction, barge-transportation, heavy-lifts (ship sections, superstructures, constructions etc.), supply-services and crewing. Historically, the majority of our operations were based in vicinity of the Baltic & North Seas, but we are now increasingly more active in other areas, such as the Mediterranean, Africa, Transatlantic and the Black Sea."
This page also leads to a 2005 article offering more information: coastal ship operator Niels Henriksen sold his four ships in 1977 to branch into towing, typically acquiring able and, as business developed materially and geopgraphically, larger tugs from other companies. Currently, son and co-partner Niels Ove Henriksen owns Rederiet Junior ApS, operating smaller tugs, and with his father owns Baltic Towing Co.
See the 'Fleet List' (upper menu) for the usual details but also 'News' giving lots of photos showing Svenborg active in towing ships and loads of all kinds, some of them spectacular.
The house flag is white bearing the founder's initials "NH" in red (no serifs) and apparently joined (vide website), as seen here:
http://www.svendborgbugser.dk/Default.aspx?ID=98
http://www.svendborgbugser.dk/Default.aspx?ID=85
http://www.tugspotters.com/tugs/fotos/s/SKANSUND%20(2).JPG
Detail of last photo attached as, the image reminding us that the house flag repeats the national colours.
Jan Mertens, 08 May 2011

Svendsen & Christensen, Copenhagen

image by Jarig Bakker

A red flag, white blue swallowtail, white shield with red saltire cross, over all stylized blue "A". Same type of "A" was used by the Danish Asiatic Company after 1802.
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels (Wedge 1926)
Jarig Bakker, 19 December 2004

image by Rob Raeside

Svendsen & Christensen. Dated from 1898 with Lloyds 1904 showing a narrow swallow-tailed long pennant and the normal swallow-tailed version by 1912. At some stage prior to WW2 [my earliest mention is for 1939] they began trading through A/S D/S Vendila and post WW2 this is [basically as they vary the title] the name listed in Lloyds with the flag being shown also under this name by Brown 1958 and Stewart 1963. By 1963 the fleet was no longer and Vendila was acquired by Dannebrog Rederei A/S and presumably traded in their colours until being merged into the associate Weco-Shipping I/S in 1972.
Neale Rosanoski, 29 January 2005

Svenson & Jesperson

image by Jarig Bakker

Svenson & Jesperson, Copenhagen - red flag, divided per white hoist diagonal; at hoist top and fly bottom white 5-pointed star
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels (Wedge 1926)
Jarig Bakker, 20 January 2005

Svenson & Jesperson. Correct name as shown by Brown (Wedge 1926), supported by Lloyds (1911), was Suenson & Jespersen. Lloyds dates them at least 1916 and operating still in 1937. Brown 1929 shows the livery in a change to the name of M.N. Suenson but this may not be correct.
Neale Rosanoski, 10 February 2005

A/S EM. Z. Svitzer

A/S Em. Z. Svitzer (Brondby)

image by Jarig Bakker, 21 October 2005
Source: Loughran (1995)

The company is the Scandinavian branch of the Svitzer-Wijsmuller group, founded in August 2001 by the merging of Svitzer (Denmark) and Wijsmuller Bros (Baarn, The Netherlands). The group is itself part of the A.P. Moller (Maersk) group. It operates today the most powerful tug fleet in the world. Svitzer was founded in 1833 and owns today the towage and salvage companies Roda Bolaget (Sweden) and Esvagt A/S (Denmark). Wijsmuller was founded in 1906 as Wijsmuller Bureau. Company website: http://www.svitzerwijsmuller.com/
Ivan Sache, 27 November 2003

A/S Em. Z. Svitzer (Brondby). The flag is white and the cross blue (as per the website for a shot of the actual).
Neale Rosanoski, 11 September 2001

Sydfynske Dampskibsselskab A/S, SFDS A/S

A poster from 1950 showing its wide ferry network shows the flag to be Red with a Yellow two-bladed axe.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 27 August 2001

Continued as Danish Shipping Companies (T)