After three years providing expedition itineraries, Hurtigruten Expeditions (HX)’s Maud was transferred again to Hurtigruten’s coastal service earlier this month.
As a part of the transition, the 2003-built ship was reflagged to the Norwegian Peculiar Ship Register (NOR) and regained its authentic identify, crusing once more because the Midnatsol.
The five hundred-guest vessel is now providing Hurtigruten’s Coastal Categorical Route, which cruises between Bergen and Kirkenes for 11 nights.
The itinerary contains stops in 34 ports alongside the Norwegian coast as a part of an operation that features not solely passenger service but additionally transportation for items and automobiles.
Whereas authentic plans known as for a short lived switch, Hurtigruten Group’s future plans for the ship are at the moment unclear.
In accordance with the corporate’s authentic announcement, the vessel was scheduled to interchange the Vesterålen, which is ready to endure a significant refurbishment lasting via late 2025.
After finishing its schedule alongside the Norwegian coast, the Midnatsol was poised to return to HX’s fleet forward of a season in Antarctica and South America in late 2025.
The itineraries, nonetheless, are not accessible on HX’s on-line reserving device, and the vessel has since disappeared from the expedition operator’s web site altogether.
The momentary switch was introduced as a part of Hurtigruten’s ongoing environmental improve program, which included extra vessels present process vital refurbishments.
A sister to the 2002-built Trollfjord, the Midnatsol was inbuilt Norway and debuted in Hurtigruten’s coastal service in 2002.
The 16,151-ton vessel had been devoted full-time to exploration cruises in Northern Europe since 2021.
Earlier than becoming a member of the expedition fleet because the Maud, the ship additionally underwent a significant refurbishment that diminished its capability from 674 to 500 friends.
Between its coastal and expedition fleets, the Hurtigruten Group at the moment operates a fleet of 16 cruise ships, together with the hybrid-powered sisters Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen, in addition to the Galapagos-based Santa Cruz II.
