Owner

Uddevalla Skärgårdsbåtar AB, operating under the trade name Skärgårdsbåtarna i Uddevalla, is a shipping company owned by Uddevalla Municipality. It is a subsidiary of Visit Uddevalla Aktiebolag, which in turn is a subsidiary of Uddevalla Utvecklings AB.

All shares are owned by Uddevalla Municipality and the municipal board has supervisory duties over the company.

Board

The company’s board consists of five politicians appointed for a four-year period by the municipal council in Uddevalla.

Staff

The company has a Managing Director, an Operations Manager, and three full-time employees, as well as around twenty seasonal workers.

The city’s finest heritage

Welcome aboard a journey through history and nature with Uddevalla’s proud heritage – our beloved Skärgårdsbåtar! With over a hundred years of adventure behind us, we are a vital part of the pulse of the city and the sea. We are proud to share this joy with you.

Has been operating in the fjords since the 19th century.

In 1876, Ångbåtsaktiebolaget Bohuslänska Kusten was formed which, among other things, started the scheduled service between central Uddevalla, the ancient seaside resort of Gustafsberg with m/s Gustafsberg II. At most, there were 16 steamships in the shipping company which, when it set out, served Gothenburg, Marstrand, Uddevalla and Strömstad. The company’s oldest ship, the charming m/s Gustafsberg II – or “Gustaf” as we affectionately call her – was built during the Union period, in 1898, and is therefore allowed to fly the Union flag at the stern. Skärgårdsbåtarna is one of the city’s rich heritages that we love to cherish and enhance with pride.

childhood memories

Some inhabitants of Uddevalla probably have memories of when the oldest ships in the fleet still ran on steam and had a stoker who supplied the machine on board with coal. Others probably remember taking the bathing boat, m/s Sunningen, to Unda for sun and swimming or taking the boat from the vacation house to go to town for som shopping. And who hasn’t bathed in the waves after m/s Byfjorden gassed past at some beach along the coast?

How it started

The vessel m/s Byfjorden was built for the shipping company in 1968 to attract tourists to Bohuslän by offering journeys between Uddevalla and Käringön. Many tours between these places have been run over the years. How it started

Come join us to explore the archipelago

But we are not only part of history – we are also part of the present and the future. On our boats, you can not only taste the delicacies of the sea and enjoy the sunset, but you can also experience the archipelago from the water, all year round! From May to September we offer regular tours, but you can also book your own tour at any time of the year.

The city’s finest heritage

We have over a hundred years of history behind us and are happy to share it with you. Skärgårdsbåtarna is today an obvious part of the city and sea environment for Uddevalla’s residents and visitors and it shall remain so. Those of us who have the privilege of working with the boats feel both the seriousness and the joy of this. We are involved in refining one of the city’s finest heritages and we do so with pride!

Has been operating in the fjords since the 19th century.

In 1876, Ångbåtsaktiebolaget Bohuslänska Kusten was formed which, among other things, started a scheduled service between central Uddevalla and the ancient seaside resort of Gustafsberg with m/s Gustafsberg II. At most, there were 16 steamships in the shipping company which, when it set out, served Gothenburg, Marstrand, Uddevalla and Strömstad. Gustafsberg II or “Gustaf” as she is called, was built at Gothenburg’s Mekaniska Werkstad during the Union period, in 1898, and is our oldest boat. World War II coal prices led to the company going bankrupt in 1949 and the boats m/s Sunningen and m/s Gustafsberg were thus sold to the city of Uddevalla.

Come join us to explore the archipelago

Today, on our boats you can taste the delights of the sea while watching the sun go down, and the beauty is that you can experience the archipelago from the water, summer or autumn, winter or spring. From May to September, our boats run regular trips, but the boats can be booked for all year round.