Color Line

Color Line was formed in 1990 through the merger of the Norwegian shipping companies Jahre Line and Norway Line, and is headquartered in Oslo. Its roots in ferry operations go back more than 100 years. Jahre Line had already been running ferries between Oslo and Kiel since 1961.

Color Line operates four international cruise-ferry lines between 7 ports in Norway, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Its main routes are Kiel-Oslo, Hirtshals-Larvik, Hirtshals-Kristiansand and Strømstad-Sandefjord. Each year it carries 4.2 million passengers, 800,000 cars and 160,000 trailers.

The fleet comprises 5 ships: Color Fantasy, Color Magic, SuperSpeed 1, SuperSpeed 2 and Color Hybrid. The Color Fantasy and Color Magic are the world's largest cruise ships with a car deck, sailing daily between Oslo and Kiel, departing at 2:00pm and arriving at 10:00am (a 20-hour crossing). The MS Color Fantasy carries 2,750 passengers and 750 cars. The Color Hybrid is the world's largest plug-in hybrid ship (diesel-electric).

In the 2000s Color Line invested heavily in new ships, with MS Color Fantasy, MS Color Magic, MS Superspeed 1 and MS Superspeed 2 entering service between 2004 and 2008. In 1997 Color Line took over Larvik Line's Denmark operations, and in 1998 acquired the Color Hotel Skagen and Scandi Line. On board there are cabins, restaurants, bars, shops and entertainment. The company employs 3,500 staff across 4 countries.