Rolls-Royce to supply engines for giant Color Line hybrid

160 m ferry will carry 2,000 passengers, 500 cars

JUNE 16, 2017 — The world’s largest plug-in hybrid ferry will have four Rolls-Royce Bergen B33:45L diesel engines.

Designed by Fosen Yard , the ferry is on order for Norway’s Color Line at Ulstein Verft. When delivered by the shipbuilder in the summer of 2019, it will operate on the crossing between Sandefjord in Norway and Strømstad in Sweden.

The new Color Line ferry will be a plug-in hybrid combining diesel and electrical power. The batteries will be recharged via a power cable with green electricity from Color Line’s own shore facilities or recharged on board by the ship’s generators. The 160-m long vessel will have a capacity for 2,000 passengers and 500 cars.

The four engines from Rolls-Royce are scheduled to be delivered in March 2018. The contract with Rolls-Royce incudes an option to provide engines for a second vessel.

Kjell Harloff, Rolls-Royce, VP Engines – Marine, said: “The shipbuilding industry in Norway has lately proven its competitiveness internationally in the cruise and ferry market, and we are proud to be part of these innovative new building projects. Our Bergen engines have now been sold to nine vessels in this particular segment over the past year. It is a track record which demonstrates a highly attractive and competitive engine range.”

The Bergen B33:45 In-line diesel engine from Rolls-Royce was first introduced at SMM, Hamburg, in September 2014. Available with six, eight or nine cylinders, close to sixty engines have been sold to date. Orders have been received for various vessel types from all over the world including Norway, U.K, Spain, Canada, China, Singapore and New Zealand.

Last month, Rolls-Royce also launched a new a vee-line version of the engine to address a bigger portion of the marine and land market.