MS Nordstjernen
 MS Nordstjernen | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | MS Nordstjernen |
| Owner: | Vestland Rederi |
| Operator: | Vestland Marine |
| Port of registry: | Bergen |
| Route: | Norway and Spitsbergen [1] |
| Launched: | 1956 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 5255777[2] |
| Status: | In Service |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 2,191 GT |
| Length: | 80.7 m (264 ft 9 in) |
| Beam: | 12.6 m (41 ft 4 in) |
| 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 In March 2012, she was withdrawn from the coastal service.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 Gdansk, 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 Gdansk on 9 November 2013.
References
- ↑ MS Nordstjernen (2010/11 Deck Plans) Hurtigruten Retrieved 02-09-2009
- ↑ MS Nordstjernen (IMO: 5255777) Vesseltracker Retrieved 02-09-2009
- ↑ MS Nordstjernen Hurtigruten
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "M/S «Nordstjernen» på vei hjem" (in Norwegian). Riksantikvaren. 2013-07-30. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
- ↑ Bespoke Traveller: kayaking in the Arctic Telegraph.co.uk
- ↑ "M/S «Nordstjernen»" (in Norwegian). Fjordsteam. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
- ↑ "Hotellskip, charterturer M/S "Nordstjernen"" (in Norwegian). luksusyachter.no. Retrieved 2013-07-31.