---

Rolls-Royce has received an order for four B33:45L diesel engines to power the world's largest hybrid ferry being built for the Norwegian cruise and transport company Color Line.

The 160-metre-long vessel, which was designed by Fosen, is to be built at Ulstein Verft in Norway and is slated for completion in the summer of 2019. Once constructed, the vessel will operate on the crossing between Sandefjord in Norway and Stromstad 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 electricity from Color Line's own shore facilities or recharged on board by the ship's generators.

The four engines from Rolls-Royce are scheduled to be delivered in March 2018. The contract also comes with 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 are claimed to have been sold to date, with orders said to have been received for various vessel types from all over the world, including Norway, UK, Spain, Canada, China, Singapore and New Zealand.

Last month, during the Nor-Shipping event in Oslo, Rolls-Royce expanded the B33:45 engine series with a new V-line version to address a bigger portion of the marine and land market.

Color Line was established in 1990 as a result of the merger between Jahre Line and Norway Line. It is Norway's largest cruise shipping company, operating six ro-ro passenger ferries between Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.