Samsø's municipal ferry company will likely need to find up to 650,000 kroner a month because several fixed-price fuel agreements are expiring, DR reported.
The fixed-price deals have for years shielded municipal ferry companies from high fuel prices. From Limfjorden and Læsø to Lolland, Fyn and Samsø, a crisis is brewing just under the surface, according to Lars Hansen, chair of Småøernes Færgeselskaber. "It is more or less everywhere. People have tried to protect their budgets with fixed-price agreements, but with the prices on the world market right now, it just goes up, up, up. It is worrying," Hansen said.
For many smaller island municipalities there are no deep pockets. The choice quickly becomes fewer departures, slower sailing or significantly more expensive tickets. "The consequences are, in the end, depopulation of the Danish islands. We have had people living on the Danish islands for thousands of years, and it would be a shame if that is destroyed by fuel prices going wild," Hansen warned.
Most islands dream of replacing diesel engines with green battery operation. That conversion can cost a three-digit million amount, money the municipalities struggle to find in their budgets. Hansen called for dropping the CO2 tax for small ferries and creating pools so municipalities can finance conversion or new construction for green operation.
According to By-, Land- og Transportministeriet, work is underway on a compensation scheme for municipal ferry companies to soften the worst consequences.