Viking Magazine - March 2018 - 24

excursions, but also activities like
guided explorations on and off the
ship on infl atable boats or kayaks.
Last August, Hurtigruten announced
it was adding underwater drones
from Norway's Blueye Robotics to its
expedition vessels, so passengers can see
the underwater environment, too.
Another departure from conventional
cruising: Instead of using prime space
at the heart of the ship for a theater
that stands empty much of the time,
the Amundsen and Nansen will have a
high-tech edutainment area. Filled with
touch screens, lab equipment, a library
section and a team of 10 to 20 experts
- biologists, historians, geologists,
photographers - the edutainment
area will be a space where passengers
can satisfy their curiosity through
educational experiences.
" We've designed this area for
interaction, " Ege says. That could
include anything from taking a
photography class to asking a
glaciologist about ice formations to
helping conduct an experiment. Video
feed from the drones will be available
there, too.
While competitors are also planning
and building hybrid and expedition
vessels, Hurtigruten believes its legacy
gives it an advantage. For 125 years, the
company has been plying Arctic waters
as a vital transportation link for people
and cargo on Norway's coast (see
timeline below). But right alongside that
practical function, Ege says Hurtigruten
has been an adventure travel business
all along.
Norway's coastal communities relied
on irregular connections by boat in
the early 1890s, an era when most
highways, tunnels and bridges were
yet to be built. Steamship captain
Richard With contracted with Norway's
government to provide regularly
scheduled passage for people and goods
along a " fast route " - " hurtigruten "
- that he fi rst serviced in 1893.
Even then there were guidebooks
on board because many passengers
were tourists, Ege says. And already in
1896, with explorer Otto Sverdrup to
captain the vessel, With added a second
line - the " sportsman's route " - from
Hammerfest to Svalbard.
Designed for Extremes
The Amundsen's fi rst published voyage,
in October 2018, will be through the
waters of Antarctica, Patagonia and
the Chilean fjords. Hurtigruten's new
hybrids will sail routes such as the
Northwest Passage in the Canadian
Arctic, where they'll follow one of Roald
Amundsen's expeditions of more than a
century ago.
" Safety is of the highest importance "
in the ships' design, says Per Egil Vedlog,
a leader on the design team, because
these vessels will cruise " one of the most
austere areas of the world. "
Vedlog, who is chief designer of
merchant vessels in the marine division
of Rolls-Royce, is based is Ålesund. He
and his team designed the structural and
operational elements of the Amundsen
and Nansen in close dialogue with
Hurtigruten's project group. The
renowned Norwegian yacht designer
Espen Øino did the fi nal exterior
design touches.
To sail in polar waters, the ships
must meet the requirements of the
International Maritime Organization's
new Polar Code, which came into
hurtigruten through the years
1880s
Captain Richard With, founder
of the Vesteraalen Steamship
Company in
Stokmarknes,
does business
on the diffi cult
and dangerous
northern
coastline
of Norway. By recording
compass readings and
travel times, he is able to
map a safe route that he
can sail even in darkness
or bad weather.
1891
Norway's Interior Affairs
Ministry sets a goal of adding
steamship
service from
Trondheim to
Hammerfest
at the end
of its Oslo to
Trondheim
rail line, with the leg of the
journey from Trondheim to
Svolvær to be covered in
34 hours or less. Captain With
is the only bidder for
the contract.
1893
Captain With and his ship,
the DS Vesteraalen, sail what
is dubbed " Hurtigruten, " the
fast route, from Trondheim to
Hammerfest for the fi rst time.
1896
With opens a hotel on
Svalbard and inaugurates a
new " Sportsman's Route " from
Hammerfest to Svalbard with
his ship DS Lofoten.
24 VIKING MARCH 2018 sonsofnorway.com
PHOTO: ANDERS BEER WILSE
http://www.sonsofnorway.com
Viking Magazine - March 2018

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