The Roald Amundsen has made history, becoming the first Hurtigruten vessel to completely transit the famed Northwest Passage.
The 530-guest hybrid vessel was delivered earlier this year and after transit the Passage recently, is approaching Nome, Alaska.
The voyage started in Kangerlussuaq in Greenland on August 20 and will wrap up in Nome in Alaska, a total distance of 4,128 nautical miles.
“Every expedition cruise with Hurtigruten is unique, yet this green milestone is literally making history with our guests. Only a few years ago, building cruise ships with battery packs was considered impossible; now the MS Roald Amundsen pays tribute to the great explorer she is named after by traversing one of the world’s most fabled stretches of sea by hybrid propulsion,” said Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam.
.”We have been heading in the wake and footprint of the famous explorer Roald Amundsen, who did this voyage more than 100 years ago,” said Captain Kai Albrigtsen, addressing the guests aboard the ship.
Of note, when Roald Amundsen did the first crossing, it took his expedition three years (1903-1906), while the Roald Amundsen vessel spent three weeks covering the same itinerary.