DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. It is the busiest shipping company of its kind in Northern Europe and one of the busiest in Europe. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literally The United Steamship Company). DFDS was founded in 1866, when C.F. Tietgen merged the three biggest Danish steamship companies of that day. Although DFDS has generally concentrated on freight and passenger traffic on the North Sea and to the Baltic Sea, it has also operated freight services to the US, South America, and the Mediterranean in the past. Since the 1980s, DFDS's focus for shipping has been on northern Europe. Today, DFDS operates a network of 25 routes with 50 freight and passenger ships in the North Sea, Baltic Sea, and the English Channel under the name DFDS Seaways. The rail and land-based haulage and container activities are operated by DFDS Logistics. History The Beginnings Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab was formed on 11 December 1866, as a merger of the three biggest Danish steamship companies under the leadership of a Danish financier Carl Frederik Tietgen. Operations began on 1 January 1867 with 19 ships with Copenhagen as the main starting point. The company was initially based in the Prior House at Bredgade 33. The company's routes at the time were from Denmark to Norway, the Baltic, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Iceland, and The Faeroe Islands, with ships carrying both freight and passengers. As the company grew, new connections were opened to Sweden, France, the Mediterranean and Black Sea, as well as North America and South America. In addition, DFDS operated various domestic services in Denmark. After the continued expansion of the fleet in the 1880s, DFDS became one of the world's ten largest ship-owning companies. After the takeover of Dampskibsselskabet Thingvalla in 1898, the Scandinavian-American Line was established. A long relationship with shipbuilder Helsingørs Jernskibs of Maskinbyggeri A/S (Elsinore Shipbuilding & Engineering Co.) began with delivery of the steamer Arno in 1898 for service in the Mediterranean. The last ship Helsingørs delivered was Dana Minerva, a roll on/roll off ship, in 1978. The Scandinavian-American Line continued trading to the United States until 1935. The Two World Wars First World War The First World War took a heavy toll on the DFDS fleet, with 26 ships lost. During the post-war depression, a further 30 ships were laid up. The company revived with the