The ship has previously carried the names Waal and Wijkse Veer.

[1] The ferry itself was built in 1959 at the Scheepswerf en Machinefabriek H. J. Koopman in Dordrecht, Netherlands, and placed in service on 26 March 1960 as the Waal.

Since 1993 the boat has been run as the Tanja Ferry by the municipality of Neu Darchau.

Its usable transport length is 30.9 metres, its carrying capacity 140 tonnes.

It is powered by two Scania diesel engines that each drive a Voith Schneider Propeller.