Color Line has roots in the ferry business that go back more than 100 years. The company was established in 1990 when two
Norwegian shipping companies,
Jahre Line and
Norway Line merged. Jahre Line had operated ferries between
Oslo and
Kiel since 1961, while Norway Line had operated ferries between
Bergen and
Newcastle since 1986. During 1990 Color Line also took over the
Fred. Olsen Lines cruiseferry operations, During the first half of the 1990s Color Line expanded its tonnage by lengthening its existing ships or by acquisition of larger second-hand ships. The company began operating fast ferries between Norway and Denmark during the summer of 1996. Initially the operations were in collaboration with
SeaContainers, but were run without them from 1997 onwards. In October of the same year Color Line took over the operations of
Larvik Line, its competitor in the Norway—Denmark traffic. In September 1998 Color Line acquired both the
Color Hotel Skagen and
Scandi Line, which operated two ferries on the short routes connecting Norway and Sweden. In the end of 1998 the Norway–United Kingdom operations were sold to
Fjord Line. For the 1999 summer season the (former) Scandi Line ships received new Color Scandi Line liveries. They were fully incorporated into the Color Line fleet in 2001. During the 2000s Color Line begun investing heavily in new tonnage, with , , and supplanting much of the older tonnage between 2004 and 2008. In April 2008 the company announced the closure of the
Oslo—
Hirtshals service from 6 May 2008 onwards. In January 2017, Color Line announced that it had signed a letter of intent with the
Ulstein Verft shipyard to build a new ferry with a hybrid drivetrain for the Sandefjord–Strömstad route, with delivery expected in 2019. The keel was laid in April 2018 in Poland and the ship was launched in November 2018. In November 2022, Color Line announced that
Color Carrier and
Color Viking will end operations. == Ships and routes ==