In early 2005, the M/S Color Fantasy began operation, hailed as the world’s largest cruise ship incorporating a car deck. The €302.5 million vessel was put into service on Color Line’s traditional scheduled route between Oslo and Kiel in Germany. In May 2005, Color Line and Aker Finnyards signed a contract for the building of a sister ship – the M/S Color Magic. This will be put into operation on the service between Oslo and Kiel during the last quarter of 2007.

The passenger ship has a length of 223.7m and a beam of 35m (41.4m between bridge wings). It has a design draught of 6.8m and a height to deck seven of 21.9m. It registers 75,027GRT and has a 5,000t deadweight.

PASSENGER AND VEHICLE CAPACITY

The vessels have been custom-designed to carry out shorter cruises and can carry 2,750 passengers. The layout of the vessel is spread over 16 decks. Altogether, there are 1,021 cabins, of which 46 are suites. All cabins have TV and mini bar. In addition, there are 250 crew accommodated in 248 crew cabins.

The main vehicle deck has a row of pillars however the drive-through space can take six lanes of commercial vehicles. The vessel can accommodate up to 200 cars on deck five, 258 cars on deck four and 292 cars on deck three, totalling 750 cars. There are also 1,030 lane metres in deck three and 240 lane metres on deck four for trucks and trailers, giving a total of 1,270 lane meters

LEISURE FACILITIES

Along the length of the vessel is a 160m promenade (three decks in height including the restaurant. There is a fully equipped 1,600m² conference centre and a permanent 1,400m² exhibition area, which can accommodate 850 participants. The conference centre is equipped with state-of-the-art technological facilities including full wireless Internet coverage.

The Fantasy Show Lounge presents two shows per evening. For dining, the guests can choose between eight different restaurants – from a private dining saloon in the Cosmopolitan Gourmet to the Sports and Burger Bar. Among several bars, is the Observation Lounge on the upper deck.

The Color Spa and Fitness Centre includes comprehensive gym and spa facilities with spa treatments, hair salon, jacuzzi, steam bath, sauna and massage chairs. The Aqualand area has a pool

ENGINES

The Colour Fantasy is installed with a medium speed diesel-mechanical propulsion configuration comprising four engines with a combined output of 31.2MW. The eight-cylinder Wärtsilä L46 engines each develop a 7,800kW at 500rpm MCR. This is capable of providing a service speed of 22kts at 90% output.

These engines are attached in pairs via flexible couplings, to twin input / single output Renk reduction gearboxes driving Kamewa shaftlines. The propulsion is by two Rolls Royce controllable pitch propellers

Manoeuvring can be facilitated by 6.6kV side thrusters. There are three 2,200kW 6,600V bow thrusters and a pair of 1,000kW / 6,600V aft thrusters.

The main voltage frequency is 690V / 50A. Electricity is generated by 4,800kW ABB shaft alternators connected to each gearbox. Electric power is also generated by four 1,950kW auxiliary diesel gensets. These are based on Wartsila 6L26 engines and ABB alternators running at 1,000rpm.

The ships are classified by Det Norske Veritas under the notation Class: +1A1 Car Ferry A, ICE – 1B, RP, E0, MCDK, pwdk, NAUT-OC, F-M, Comf – V(1), CLEAN, TMON, VIBR.