The Costa Luminosa early in the morning

The Costa Luminosa was approaching Helsingborg/Helsingør early this morning. The 292 m x 32.2 m cruise ship was on its way from Oslo to Copenhagen.

Marine traffic in Øresund on the evening of June 28, 2013

There was a lot of marine traffic in Øresund last night. Here is part of it:

The  large cruise ship Adventure of the Seas (311 m x 33 m ) was on its way from
Copenhagen to Tallinn. 

The Finnish cargo ship Hjördis (120 m x 18 m) was going to Terneuzen late in the evening.

The Dutch container ship Njord's (133 m x 19 m) destination was Vlissingen. 

The Swedish sailing boat Josefine was struggling a little with the spinnaker.

The Landskrona - Ven ferry service

The Ventrafiken ferries M/S Uraniborg (left) and M/S Stjerneborg meet close to their home port Landskrona. 

The ferry service between Landskrona and Tycho Brahe's island Ven (Hven in Danish) in the middle of the Sound, is operated by Ventrafiken. The company uses two modern ferries, the brand new M/S Uraniborg and the recently rebuilt M/S Stjerneborg on the route. The crossing takes about 30 minutes.

The M/Stjerneborg approaching Landskrona.

A closer look at the M/S Stjerneborg, with a capacity of 247passengers and 11 cars.

Passengers disembarking.

From Landskrona's Citadel you have a good view of Ven.

The Landskrona Citadel - One of Europe's largest and best preserved historic fortifications

The city of Landskrona is this year celebrating its 600th anniversary. The city was founded at the location of Scania's (at the time part of Denmark) best natural harbor, as a means of King Erik of Pomerania's anti-Hanseatic policy. 

From a visitor's point of view, the Landskrona Citadel, initially built in 1549-1559 as a purely defensive fortification, is the most interesting sight. The Citadel, with three moats, is one of Europe's largest and best preserved. 

During the first decades of the 20th century, the Citadel was used as a women's prison. It now serves as a museum, and can also be rented for conferences and other occasions. 

A mallard mother with two ducklings - and a possible father

This mallard hen and her two ducklings were yesterday enjoying the nice afternoon at the Landskrona Citadel. The male in the third picture could be the father, but most likely not, since about  90% of mallard drakes move on and find another mate after the hen's eggs are close to hatching. Fortunately, the hen is well capable of looking after the ducklings without the drake. 

Nearby a baby herring gull was waiting for the food service to continue:

Former Danish Navy missile boat HDMS Sehested (P547) towed to Copenhagen

Early this morning (about 5 AM) tugboat Baltsund was towing the former missile boat of the Royal Danish Navy, HDMS Sehested (P547) towards Copenhagen. The  46 m x  7.4 m  P547, which was on active duty in 1978 - 2000,  now serves as a museum ship at the Royal Danish Naval Museum. The boat is now returning to the museum from Assens, where it has been in for service and repairs. 

Containerships VII passing by at 4 AM

Containership VII in Øresund on June 28, 2013.

One of the Øresund regulars, the Finnish Containerships VII, was early this morning (at 4 AM) going northwards in the Sound. The 158 m x 22 m ship is estimated to arrive in Teesport tomorrow morning.