Hurtigruten’s Roald Amundsen, the First hybrid powered ship completes Northwest Passage crossing
This week, Hurtigruten’s groundbreaking expedition cruise ship MS Roald Amundsen wrote a new chapter in exploration history – being the first battery-hybrid powered ship to ever traverse the legendary Northwest Passage.
As the MS Roald Amundsen arrived Nome, Alaska, in the evening of September 10, captain Kai Albrigtsen could make a monumental entry in the ship’s logbook: “The first complete passage of the more than 3.000 nautical miles passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, by hybrid propulsion”.
For centuries, the renowned passage connecting East and West has spellbound ocean explorers.
Norwegian polar pioneer Roald Amundsen made the first complete passage from 1903 to 1906.
“We have experienced gale winds, snow and ice. We have also witnessed spectacular sunsets, and striking scenery and wildlife. However, what has had the biggest impact on us, is how warmly we’ve been welcomed by the local communities along the route, just as Roald Amundsen himself was. Their unparalleled hospitality is what has made this a genuinely inspirational voyage”, says captain Albrigtsen.
Having traversed the Northwest Passage, MS Roald Amundsen will sail further along the coast of North- and South America, before spending the winter offering one-of-a-kind expedition cruises in Antarctica.
The summer of 2020, MS Roald Amundsen will then return to North America, for a series of expedition cruises in Alaska.
