Ferry employees have now been given a stake in the company they work for.

DFDS will give everyone of its 7,000-plus employees shares as a 150th anniversary gift.

All staff who are employed by the company as of December 1 this year and who work at least 24 hours a week will receive 30 shares valued at just under £1,100.

Employees on fewer hours will receive shares proportional to the hours worked.

Niels Smedegaard corr, DFDS chief executive, said: “Very few companies are in a position of being able to celebrate their 150th anniversary.

“We have therefore wanted to combine the celebration of our foundation and our founders with a celebration of, and thanks to, our many employees.

"They every day help to ensure that DFDS can continue contributing to trade, travel and growth also in the future.”

The shares are tied up for a three-year period, after which they can be freely redeemed by the employees, who now become co-owners in the company.

The total allocation amounts to £7.9 million.

DFDS operates up to 54 sailings a day between Dover and Calais and Dover and Dunkirk.

It also has sailings between Newcastle and Amsterdam and Newhaven and Dieppe.

The company is northern Europe’s largest integrated shipping and logistics company with a network of around 30 routes and 50 freight and passenger ships.

It was formed in 1866 by the merger of Denmark’s three biggest steamship lines. DFDS stands for The United Steamship Company in Danish.

DFDS has been named Europe’s Leading Ferry Operator for the last six years, from 2011, as well as the World’s Leading Ferry Operator’ for the same period.

The company was also named Best Family Ferry Operator at the 2016 Family Traveller Awards.