The first 100 years
1863
On 5th August 1863 Skipper Otto Hansen's yacht ”Marie Kristine” loads in Vejle Port with general cargo bound for Copenhagen. Otto Hansen has sailed with big ships from Vejle to foreign ports, and has just received his certificate as home trade master. In 1863, at the age of only 22, he decides to become master of his own ship and starts a packet service between Vejle and Copenhagen. In the first years he manages close to 20 trips a year under sail and in 1866 the first steam navigation starts between Vejle and Copenhagen.
1878
The united navigation company (Det Forenede Dampskibs Selskab), DFDS, which was founded in 1866, appoints Captain Otto Hansen as agent for DFDS in Vejle, then specifically as steamer agent, on condition that he immediately ceases “the current packet service carried out by you or at your expense between Copenhagen and Vejle and vice versa, and oblige yourself to by all means to seek to hinder others in doing this".
1922
Steamer agent Otto Hansen dies at the age of 82. A month prior to Otto Hansen's death, chief clerk H.J.Hansen becomes co-responsible partner and the company is named Otto Hansen & Co.
1930 and 1940s
The Vejle-Copenhagen coasters are joined by DFDS ships carrying fodder and raw materials from all over the world to Vejle’s industries. Goods out of Vejle include tile stoves, margarine, flour and grain, potatoes and spice substitutes, often to Copenhagen, but also further to Swedish and Finnish ports. Especially towards the end of World War II, brown coal, turf and stumpwood constitute a significant part of the cargo.
1950
The modern freight ship ”Riberhus” is introduced. The ship also has capacity for 12 passengers. The crew was reduced from 25 to 13 men, and the number of dockers required for loading was reduced from approximately 50 to 16. A revolutionary ship, which remained in service until 1967, calling in Vejle 3 times a week.
1951
H.J.Hansen's son, Svend Hansen becomes partner. He has worked in the company since 1948.
1952
The Great Belt connection was overloaded with goods to the capital in the post-war years. Car imports increased in these years and negotiations led to increased traffic from Germany of new Opel cars from Rüsselsheim, which arrived on rail wagons and were forwarded to Copenhagen onboard the ”Riberhus”. Vejle was General Motors’ central storage park in Denmark, and traffic continued until 1961, with up to 3000 cars a year.
1960
Exports from the Vejle area increase and the DFDS routes out of Copenhagen are principal routes for exports to the entire world. In 1960 Otto Hansen & Co. becomes agent for Norddeutscher Lloyd, which has a worldwide network out of Bremen. In the mid-1960s Copenhagen starts to lose ground to the large continental ports, Hamburg and Bremen. Copenhagen is too slow and too expensive and Copenhagen is no longer a port of call for the largest ships. After the merger with Hapag and Lloyd in 1971, Hamburg and Bremen become strong alternatives to overseas routes out of Copenhagen.
1965
Agent H.J.Hansen dies, and the company continues with agent Svend Hansen as sole owner.
1967
An up-to-date ro-ro vessel ”Tumlingen” is introduced in 1967, but cargo routes are changing. From 1967 to 1970 the volume of cargo from Vejle to Copenhagen is halved. Containerisation is introduced, and this is the start signal for major changes in the flow of goods.
1968
The route Vejle-Hamburg is sailed for the last time. Overseas cargo goes to Hamburg and Bremen in trucks and containers.
1970
DFDS stops sea-routes to Vejle. In the face of tough competition from containers and trucks, the route has not been profitable for some time.
1971
The Fellowship cooperation is founded in connection with a merger with Hapag-Lloyd, and this continues successfully until 1999.
1978
The route Vejle-Bremen sails for the last time. This is Otto Hansen & Co.’s last vessel in Vejle, and Vejle is no longer a regular port of call. By contrast, Otto Hansen & Co.’s road traffic is now well-established and containers now travel by road to the continent or Århus.
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