Third hybrid expedition ship for Hurtigruten

The new ship’s design, construction, engineering and advanced technology will be based on the Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen, currently under construction at the Norwegian yard, in which Hurtigruten is the main shareholder. The ship will accommodate 530 guests and will feature an ice-strengthened hull for sailing in Arctic and Antarctic waters.

The operator, which is expecting the first vessels next year, has scheduled delivery of the third ship for the second quarter of 2021. Battery packs on the first two vessels have capacity of 1.254MW and around 5MW respectively – highlighting the dramatic growth in battery power density that will result in even bigger packs, and even longer zero-emission sailing capability, on the third ship.

“We are delighted to be able to go out with plans to build yet another revolutionary hybrid-driven expedition ship,” said Daniel Skjeldam, CEO, Hurtigruten. “This ground-breaking ship will take our guests to some of the most spectacular locations in the globe in a more sustainable way than ever before.”

The ships will run on marine diesel oil when not operating on batteries, as opposed to the LNG-battery configurations that the company will install on its six retrofitted coastal cruise ferries. The limited availability of LNG has been cited as a reason for not deploying gas fuel on the wider ranging expedition cruise ships.

Read The Motorship’s in-depth description of Hurtigruten’s hybrid cruisers here.