MS Nordstjernen

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MS Nordstjernen
MS Nordstjernen
History
Name: MS Nordstjernen
Owner: 1956–2006: Troms Fylkes Dampskibsselskap
2006–2012: Hurtigruten
2012–2013: Vestland Rederi
2013–2014: M/S Nordstjernen AS c/o RS Platou Finans[1]
Operator: Vestland Marine
Port of registry: Tromsø
Bergen
Route: Norway and Spitsbergen [2]
Builder: Blohm & Voss,[1] Steinwerder
Yard number: 787[1]
Launched: 26 October 1955
Completed: 24 February 1956[1]
Identification:
Status: In service
General characteristics
Tonnage: 2,191 GT[1]
Length: 88.78 m (291 ft 3 in)[1]
Beam: 12.64 m (41 ft 6 in)[1]
Decks: 4 passenger
Speed: 15 knots (27.78 km/h; 17.26 mph)
Capacity:
  • 400 passengers
  • 149 berths
  • 0 cars [3]

MS Nordstjernen (Norwegian: "The North Star") is a Hurtigruten vessel constructed in Hamburg, Germany in 1956, and was at the time of withdrawal from coastal service (2012) the oldest operational ship in the Hurtigruten fleet. Nordstjernen is also the ship with the longest history of Hurtigruten service ever.[4] In 2012, she was protected as a national heritage in Norway.

History

Nordstjernen was mainly used for the Hurtigruten coastal service and for cruises to the Svalbard archipelago. She was extensively refitted in 1980.[5] From 2010 to 2012 she operated continuously on the Hurtigruten coastal service. In March 2012, she was withdrawn from the coastal service. Hurtigruten was using her for Svalbard cruises in the summer of 2012. In November 2012, the ship was bought by Vestland Rederi AS. In connection with the sale, she was protected as a national heritage by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Riksantikvaren). Nordstjernen's new home port is Bergen, as it was with her original owner Bergen Steamship Company (Det Bergenske Dampskibsselskab, BDS). From the end of 2012 to July 2013, she underwent an extensive restoration in Gdańsk, Poland, which was subsidized with 2,5 million Norwegian krones by Riksantikvaren.[4] After coming back to Norway and taking part in the Fjordsteam festival in Bergen in the first days of August 2013,[6] the new owner intends to market her as a hotel ship and for charter cruises.[7] Finally she left Gdańsk on 9 November 2013. On her way back to Norway, she ran aground in the Karmsund strait on 11 November 2013. There was damage to the ship which was repaired at a dockyard in Ølensvåg, and at the end of January 2014, Nordstjernen left the dockyard.[8] In 2015 and 2016, Hurtigruten will charter the ship they formerly owned and operate it again for Svalbard cruises in summer.[9]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. MS Nordstjernen (2010/11 Deck Plans) Hurtigruten Retrieved 02-09-2009
  3. MS Nordstjernen Hurtigruten
  4. 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Bespoke Traveller: kayaking in the Arctic Telegraph.co.uk
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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