Environmental ship upgrades

Hurtigruten Norway has committed to upgrading its seven Norwegian Coastal Express ships by 2023.

“This is the largest environmental upgrade in Hurtigruten’s history, and one of the largest of its kind in Europe,” said Hedda Felin, chief executive of Hurtigruten Norway.

“This will make a real impact in reducing emissions in Norwegian waters. The fact that such an investment also leads to ripple effects in the local communities along the coast, is something we are very proud of,” she said.

Three of the seven ships will be converted to hybrid ships. The first one is MS Richard With, currently at Myklebust Yard in northwest Norway where it will be fitted with new main engines and battery packs. The same will also be done for MS Kong Harald and MS Nordlys.

Three other ships – MS Nordnorge, MS Nordkapp and MS Polarlys – will also be upgraded, and have SCR facilities installed on board, reducing NOx emissions by a reported 80%. The last ship in the fleet, MS Vesterålen, was upgraded with new engines and SCR facilities in 2019.

“Our goal is zero emissions,” continued Ms Felin. “But the technology is not mature enough yet, and we must do what we can to cut emissions with the best technology available today and extend the service life of the iconic ships we have in our fleet.”