Electric boats on the Lysefjord

Which Lysefjord boats are electric or hybrid?

Two are fully electric, Rygerelektra and Rygerlys. Brim Explorer's ship is a hybrid, and Helgøy's boat is listed as low-emission.

Here is how the boats line up, with each operator's own wording. "Fully electric" means battery only. "Hybrid" means batteries plus a combustion engine, and the share on battery varies by trip. "Low-emission" is a marketing term with no fixed definition.

RIBs and the small speedboats sit outside this. None of the RIB operators on this site sells its boat as electric, and you will hear the engines. Pick one for the speed and the spray, not for the silence. RIB or catamaran compares the two experiences.

What is MS Rygerelektra, the electric Lysefjord catamaran?

A 42 m battery-only catamaran built in 2020 for Rødne, certified for 297 passengers, and charged at the quay in Stavanger.

Rødne's fleet page gives the basics: built in 2020 by Brødrene Aa at Hyen, 42 m long, 297 passengers, a top speed of 19.9 knots, and a charging station in the Port of Stavanger downtown. Enova, the state energy fund, backed the project with about NOK 30 million.

When it launched, Baird Maritime reported a battery of about 2,100 kWh, called the largest on that type of vessel, and two round trips a day into the Lysefjord, with a slow charge overnight and a fast charge between trips. Rødne's own estimate was about 270,000 litres of diesel saved a year. Treat that as the owner's figure.

One caveat that matters if electric is the reason you are booking. The listing for the electric fjord cruise says "Boat change may occour", and Rødne's pages repeat it. In summer Rødne runs three departures a day; if you want to be sure of Rygerelektra on a given sailing, email Rødne and ask.

Is the ferry to Lysebotn electric now?

Yes. Since autumn 2026 the Kolumbus route from Lauvvik to Lysebotn is run by MS Rygerlys, a fully electric car and passenger catamaran.

Rødne took delivery of Rygerlys from Oma Baatbyggeri in Stord on 4 September 2026, according to its press release. It is 46 m of recyclable aluminium, 19 knots in service, up to 97 passengers plus cars, trucks and cargo, and fully electric along the whole route. Shippax gives the battery as 2.7 MWh and the capacity as 12 cars. Its charging setup at Forsand was tested during commissioning in September.

Kolumbus now names it as the Lysefjord combi boat on its timetable page, on a ten-year contract. The summer car ferry is a different ship: the 1997-built PETTER DASS, which Rødne runs from mid-May to the end of September. Our post on the 2027 ferry season covers timetables and booking.

How green are the hybrid and low-emission boats?

Brim Explorer's hybrid runs part of each trip on battery. Helgøy's boat is sold as low-emission and the company is Eco-Lighthouse certified, without published engine figures.

Brim Explorer is open about the split. Its tour page calls MS Brim a "hybrid electric catamaran" and says "Between 25-50% of this tour is done on our electric engine." In a Fjord Norway feature, the company says its boats cut local emissions and noise, including underwater noise. The Stavanger cruise ran from 18 May to 30 August in 2026, at 10:00 and 14:30. As the hybrid ship cruise it is the cheapest seat on the fjord, from $83.

Helgøy Skyssbåt holds the Miljøfyrtårn (Eco-Lighthouse) certification, and its GetYourGuide title calls the trip "Low-Emission". We found no published battery or fuel figures for the boat. Book the low-emission catamaran for its 2.5-hour length and six audio languages, not as an electric boat.

Rødne is going the hybrid way in Bergen too: a 39 m hybrid catamaran with a 225 kWh battery is due in 2027, per a March 2026 announcement. That one is not for the Lysefjord.

A hybrid ship with a live English guide, three outdoor decks and the lowest price on the fjord. Summer only.

★ 4.7 · 3.5 hours · from $83

Explore the hybrid ship cruise → Tour details

Do Norway's zero-emission fjord rules cover the Lysefjord?

No. The rules cover five World Heritage fjords around Geiranger and Nærøyfjord. The Lysefjord is not a World Heritage fjord.

The Norwegian government's zero-emission requirement applies to Nærøyfjorden, Aurlandsfjorden, Geirangerfjorden, Sunnylvsfjorden and Tafjorden. Tourist ships and ferries under 10,000 gross tons have had to be zero-emission there from 1 January 2026; larger ships follow from 1 January 2032. The Norwegian Maritime Authority notes the rule is technology-neutral, with strict conditions on biogas and shore power where it exists.

Those fjords belong to the UNESCO site West Norwegian Fjords: Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord. The Lysefjord is not part of it, which means no law forces Lysefjord boats onto batteries. Rygerelektra and Rygerlys are electric because Rødne and Kolumbus chose it, with state money from Enova behind the first.

What does an electric boat change on deck?

Quiet, no exhaust and no engine vibration. You hear waterfalls and voices, and the back deck smells of fjord, not diesel.

The difference is easiest to notice at the stops. On battery, a boat drifting under Preikestolen or nosing up to Hengjanefossen makes almost no sound, and the commentary carries without shouting. On the stern there is no exhaust, which matters to anyone who gets seasick on smell before swell.

What it does not change: the route. The electric, hybrid and low-emission cruises all turn at Hengjanefossen, about a third of the way in, and show you Pulpit Rock from 604 m below. Sit on the left going in, and read the best Lysefjord cruise if you are still choosing between them.

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