Our history

With the new passenger ship S/S Hansa, Gotland Company made the journey more of an experience during the voyage, as passengers now could enjoy food in the ferry’s dining room. The 1890s also saw Gotland Company form the Gotland Tourist Association, which has been a key player in the island’s tourism industry over the years.

At the end of the 19th century, the company was transformed into a limited company.

World War I broke out in 1914, causing a shortage of coal for the ships’ steam boilers and for the war years, wood had to replace coal at times.

Passenger traffic fell dramatically as a result of the war.

The ships Drotten and Gotland entered service in the 1930s – they were modern for their time and sailed at 11.5 and 13 knots respectively. The latter carried over 700 passengers and had a radio telephone. The same decade saw the advent of the first cheap tours by rail and sea, with bus transport expanded to enable onward travel from the train stations.


Everything changed in the summer of 1939, with the outbreak of World War II. Fuel shortages returned and several vessels were laid up on land, while those remaining at sea supported the Swedish Armed Forces and their military personnel stationed on Gotland. Five years later, towards the end of the war, Sweden and Gotland Company suffered a heavy loss when one of the ships, S/S Hansa, sank. The vessel was hit by a torpedo fired from a Soviet submarine, killing 84 people.

The business now began investing heavily in tourism on the island and nowhere was advertised as widely as Gotland.

With interest in Gotland set to continue into the 1980s, two new ferries were ordered at the end of the 1970s. M/S Visby V entered service in 1980 on the Gotland route, while the other ship was chartered out and later sold. M/S Visby V added further passenger capacity, with space for over 2,000 people on board. With these new ferries in service, passenger numbers rose to 878,600 in the year 1980. Vehicle capacity also rose to over 500 cars or 50 trucks and 125 cars. This increased capacity allowed tourism to continue flourishing, with a leap in visitor numbers of over 200 per cent between 1970 and 1980.

In 1982, Gotland Company was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, where shares were traded until 2004.

The Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) once again chose Destination Gotland to operate the Gotland route from 2017. In its tender, Gotland Company had clearly outlined its commitment to new vessels with a modern and more eco-friendly means of propulsion. Gotland Company ordered new ships that could run on gas in the late 2010s, and they were delivered a few years later.


Hamnhotellet was expanded in 2009 and 2013 to over 200 rooms and became part of the Scandic hotel chain. The decade also saw Gotland enterprise really take off – in 2010 there were around 12.6 new start-ups for every 1000 inhabitants, a figure only Stockholm could beat.


In 2010, Gotland Company also set up the subsidiary Gotland Tankers, which at the time had 14 product tankers in its fleet carrying processed or refined products all over the world.

By 2010, passenger numbers had climbed to over 1.6 million, and Gotland Company had increased its presence locally.

The goal of Gotland Company is to have climate-neutral crossings by 2045 and in recent years the company has reached several key milestones. The two gas-powered ships M/S Visby and M/S Gotland entered service in 2020 and 2021. They can run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biogas (LBG), which cuts emissions of carbon dioxide, sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide. Late summer 2021 also saw the launch of Gotland Company’s new ferry line Hansa Destinations between Nynäshamn and Rostock in northern Germany. The aim of the new ferry line is to shift cargo from land to sea.


The pandemic had a major impact on travel patterns, but in 2021 Gotland’s status as a tourist destination was firmly reasserted. It saw Sweden’s biggest increase in visitors, which also brought a strong recovery in passenger numbers for Destination Gotland.

In total, close to 885,000 people visited Gotland, and it was named Sweden’s number one travel destination.

Gotlandsbolaget and Viking Line launch a joint venture for pleasure cruises in the Baltic Sea. The joint venture, Gotland Alandia Cruises, brings together a unique combination of experience and knowledge of travel and creating experiences at sea. The route includes daily departures between Stockholm and Mariehamn, as well as a large number of departures to and from Visby and a number of destination cruises during the high season.


Last tanker sold
Wisby Tankers sells its last tanker and ceases tanker operations. Gotlandsbolaget continues to focus on infrastructure and industrial shipping. The sale further strengthens the company's ability to invest in the next generation of vessels.


Hansa Destinations ceases operations on the Nynäshamn-Visby-Rostock route.

The joint venture, Gotland Alandia Cruises, brings together a unique combination of experience and knowledge of travel and creating experiences at sea.

Gotlandsbolaget and its subsidiaries have been informed of renewed confidence in the tendered Gotland service for the next traffic period 2027-2035. The tender has been open since August 2023 and has been carried out in full competition with shipping companies throughout the EU.

The Gotland service will be operated with three high-speed vessels, under the Swedish flag and Swedish collective agreements. Work will now continue to develop the Gotland service to make Gotland an even more attractive place to visit, live and work. 


Acquisition of Oslo-Copenhagen route
Gotlandsbolaget acquires the cruise line Copenhagen and Oslo from DFDS. The deal, worth around DKK 600 million, includes two car and passenger ships and a business with around 800 employees. The new company has offices in Copenhagen and Oslo. As a result of the acquisition, Gotlandsbolaget now operates in four Nordic countries.

As a result of the acquisition, Gotlandsbolaget now operates in four Nordic countries.