The line has just completed a series of tests at Sintef Ocean’s facilities in Trondheim, Norway, as it aims to deliver a ship that can sail without emissions along the Norwegian coast from 2030. 

Hedda Felin, Hurtigruten chief executive, said: “The Coastal Express has sailed the Norwegian coast for 130 years. For us to sail for 130 years more, we need to change the way we sail." 

Hurtigruten hopes the vessel will use between 40% and 50% less energy than today’s ships. It is currently working closely with research institute Sintef and other partners to refine the design. 

Following months of testing, the ship is now longer, lower and more stable and features two large retractable sails that can be raised or lowered as needed. 

An eight-metre-long model shows that energy consumption on the full-size version could be reduced by 10-15%. 

Gerry Larsson-Fedde, chief operating officer at Hurtigruten, said: “For each round we make changes to optimise the design. 

"Now the ship is eight meters longer and slightly wider, and the height has been reduced by one deck. "This provides, among other things, better stability. We have also gone from three to two sails."

Anders Alterskjær, Sintef Ocean research manager, added: “To fully understand how these technologies work together, we are using advanced numerical simulations and have developed new laboratory techniques and instrumentation for ship model testing. 

“The model tests and analyses performed so far show encouraging results towards reducing the energy demand to the degree needed to enable zero emission operation.”