Hurtigruten AS

Last updated
Hurtigruten Group
Company type Limited
Industry Transport
Founded1866 as Troms Fylkes Dampskibsselskap.
Founder Richard With
Headquarters Oslo, Norway
Area served
Norway
Svalbard
Antarctica
Greenland
Iceland
South America
North America
Transatlantic
Key people
Daniel Skjeldam (CEO)
Products Ferry transport
Freight shipping
Cruise line
RevenueIncrease2.svg NOK 3,300 million (2013)
Increase2.svg NOK 261 million (2013)
Increase2.svg NOK 26 million (2013)
Number of employees
1,757 (2013)
Parent TDR Capital
Subsidiaries Hurtigruten Svalbard
Website Hurtigruten AS (in English)
MS Kong Harald (coastal express) in Geirangerfjord. MS Kong Harald Geiranger.JPG
MS Kong Harald (coastal express) in Geirangerfjord.

Hurtigruten AS is a Norwegian coastal ferry service and cruise line headquartered in Oslo, Norway. [1] It is one of two companies currently operating Hurtigruten , the coastal ferry service along the Norwegian coast from which it takes its name. [2]

Contents

In 2020, 81% of the company was owned by TDR Capital. [3] The CEO is Daniel Skjeldam. [4]

History

Hurtigruten AS is the result of a merger between the two previous operators of the Hurtigruten service, Troms Fylkes Dampskibsselskap (TFDS) and Ofotens og Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab (OVDS). TFDS was founded in 1866, and OVDS was established in 1868. The two companies merged in March 2006 to form Hurtigruten Group ASA, and twelve months later the merged entity assumed the name Hurtigruten ASA.[ citation needed ]

In 2012, the company headquarters was moved from Narvik to Tromsø. [1] In October 2014, TDR Capital purchased a majority ownership of Hurtigruten. [5]

In 2015, the legal form of Hurtigruten was changed from ASA to AS. [6]

Operations

Coastal express service

Hurtigruten AS is one of two operators of the Hurtigruten (literally "The Fast Route"), a daily passenger ferry, cruise, and shipping line along the western and northern Norwegian coast. [2] It operates between the southern Bergen and northeastern Kirkenes. A total of 11 ships operate the route. [7]

Cruise ships

Several former Hurtigruten ships now operate as cruise ships to Antarctica, departing from Ushuaia on the Argentine Tierra del Fuego. The route can include the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Islands. [8] Hurtigruten Group acquired the MS Fram for their tour cruises in Greenland. [7]

Other cruises include touring: Iceland, [9] the Mediterranean Region coasts and ports, [10] and the 'Trans-Atlantic Voyage' from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to Buenos Aires, Argentina. [11]

Tourism

The company owns a number of travel related companies, including the tour operator Spitsbergen Travel and a number of travel agencies in Norway and abroad.

The Hurtigruten Museum is a maritime museum about the 'Hurtigruten' that is located in the port city of Stokmarknes, Norway. The MS Finnmarken, retired from the coastal express and a museum ship now, is located on shore beside the Hurtigruten Museum.

Former assets

Buses

Hurtigruten ASA owned 71.3% of the transportation company TIRB. The shares were sold to Boreal Transport Nord AS in July 2014 for 95.9 million NOK. [12]

Car ferries

Hurtigruten AS operated a number of roll-on/roll-off car ferries in Nordland, Troms, Finnmark and Møre og Romsdal.

Hotels

Hurtigruten AS owned two hotels in Bergen; Neptun Hotel and Strand Hotel. The hotels were sold to Bergen Hotel in 2008. [13]

Current fleet

As of 2020, Hurtigruten AS operates 16 ships in its fleet: [14]

ShipBuiltLast refitDimensionsCapacityNotesShip imageRef
Length (m)Beam (m) Gross tonnage BedsPassengersCars
MS Nordstjernen 1956200080.7712.62,1911501490 MS Nordstjernen i Molde havnebasseng.jpg [15]
MS Lofoten 1964200387.413.262,6211514000 MS Lofoten i Floro.jpg [16]
MS Vesterålen 19831995108.5516.56,26130149024To be refurbished end-2019 MS Vesteralen ankommer Molde.jpg [17]
MS Kong Harald 19932016121.819.211,204498590- Hurtigruteskipet Kong Harald i Moldefjorden.JPG [18]
MS Richard With 19932018121.819.211,20545859012 MS Richard With Bodo.jpg [19]
MS Nordlys 19942019121.819.211,20447159024 MS Nordlys i Molde havnebasseng.jpg [20]
MS Polarlys 1996201612319.511,34150361926 MS Polarlys - Hurtigruten - Geirangerfiord.jpg [21]
MS Nordkapp 19962016123.319.511,38648059024 Nordkapp (ship, 1996) 001.jpg [22]
MS Nordnorge 19972016123.319.511,38447659032 MS Nordnorge 02.jpg [23]
MS Otto Sverdrup 20022020138.521.515,690554--Formerly MS Finnmarken until 2020 refit Finnmarken Hurtigruten 01.jpg [24]
MS Trollfjord 2002-135.7521.516,14057682235 Hurtigruta MS Trollfjord.jpg [25]
MS Maud 2003-135.7521.516,15163297032Formerly MS Midnatsol, renamed MS Maud after 2021 refit [26] Midnatsol Sortland 2018.jpg [27]
MS Fram 2007202011420.211,6472763180 2019-03-05 MS FRAM - IMO 9370018, in the Errera Channel of Antarctica.jpg [28]
MS Spitsbergen 20092016100.54187,3442433350 MV Spitsbergen arrives at Storkaia in Molde, Norway, on April 25, 2018.jpg [29]
MS Roald Amundsen 2019-14023.620,889-530- Hurtigrutten Roald amundsen.jpg [30]
MS Fridtjof Nansen 2020-14023.620,889-530- 9813084 Fridtjof Nansen 2019.jpg [31]

Related Research Articles

Hurtigruten, formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes, is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports north of Tromsø.

HMY <i>Alexandra</i> Steamship

HMY Alexandra was a steamship built as a British royal yacht, completed in 1908. Normally transporting Britain's royal family to European ports, Alexandra served as a hospital ship during the First World War. After 17 years of British service, she was sold to Norwegian commercial interests in 1925. Renamed Prins Olav, she was first used as a luxury cruise ship on trips to the North Cape, she was converted to take more passengers and cargo. In 1937 she began sailing as a Hurtigruten passenger/cargo ship along the coast of Norway. After being requisitioned by the Norwegian government following the 9 April 1940 German invasion of Norway, she transported troops for the Norwegian war effort. Prins Olav was sunk by German bombers on 9 June 1940, while attempting to escape to the United Kingdom as the Norwegian Campaign was coming to an end.

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MS <i>Nordlys</i> (1994)

MS Nordlys is a Norwegian-registered cruise ship operated by Hurtigruten. She was built by Volkswerft GmbH in Stralsund, Germany in 1994. She has two sister ships, Kong Harald and Richard With which also sail for Hurtigruten. The ship caught fire in September 2011 while sailing off Ålesund, Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ofotens og Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab</span>

Ofotens og Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab or OVDS was a Norwegian shipping company that operated ferries in Northern Norway, including the Coastal Express, car ferries and passenger ferries. The company merged with Troms Fylkes Dampskibsselskap in 2006 to form Hurtigruten Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troms Fylkes Dampskibsselskap</span>

Troms Fylkes Dampskibsselskap or TFDS is a defunct Norwegian shipping company that also has activities in public transport and tourism. Based in Tromsø the company was one of the two operators of the Coastal Express and also operated a number of car ferries and passenger ferries, primarily in Troms. It also operated three supply ships and some other vessels as of 2006. In 2004 TFDS had bought the bus company TIRB.

MS <i>Nordnorge</i> (1996)

The MS Nordnorge is a Hurtigruten ship. It was completed in 1997 by Kværner Kleven in Ulsteinvik, Norway, as a sister ship to MS Polarlys and MS Nordkapp. The Nordnorge has a gross tonnage of 11,386, crew capacity of 57, and can carry up to 691 passengers.

MS <i>Nordkapp</i> Norwegian ship

MS Nordkapp is a Hurtigruten ship built in 1996 by Kleven Verft AS, Norway, for Ofotens og Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab for use in Hurtigruten ferry service along the coast of Norway. She is a sister ship of MS Polarlys and MS Nordnorge. Nordkapp is one of 11 ships that travel the Norwegian coast from Bergen to Kirkenes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard With</span> Norwegian politician

Richard Bernhard With was a Norwegian ship captain, businessman and politician for the Liberal Left Party. He is known as the founder of the shipping companies Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab and Hurtigruten.

MS <i>Nordstjernen</i>

MS Nordstjernen is a vessel constructed in Hamburg, Germany in 1956, and used on the Hurtigruten coastal service until 2012. It was the oldest operational ship in the Hurtigruten fleet at the time of its withdrawal, and is the ship with the longest history of Hurtigruten service. In 2012, she was protected as a national heritage in Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab</span>

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MS <i>Lofoten</i>

MS Lofoten is a Norwegian passenger and cargo vessel formerly owned and operated by Hurtigruten AS. The ship was built in 1964. After MS Nordstjernen was retired from coastal service in 2012, MS Lofoten became the oldest ship in the current fleet still in operation. It operates cruises around the coast of Norway and sometimes in the Svalbard archipelago. The vessel was declared worthy of preservation in 2001 by the Norwegian Director General of Historic Monuments to preserve Norway's cultural heritage. She has been refitted several times—in 1980, 1985, 1995 and most recently in 2004.

SS <i>Nordnorge</i> (1923)

SS Nordnorge was a Norwegian steamship built in 1923–24 by Trondhjems mekaniske Værksted, for the Narvik-based Norwegian shipping company Ofotens Dampskibsselskap. First employed on the company's Narvik-Trondheim route, she was transferred to the longer Hurtigruten route in late 1936. Seized by the Germans following their April 1940 attack on Norway, she was used as covert troop ship and was sunk shortly after delivering her cargo of German troops behind Allied lines on 10 May 1940.

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SS <i>Sirius</i> (1885)

SS Sirius was a Norwegian iron-hulled steamship built in Germany in 1885. Sirius spent over 55 years sailing with cargo, regular passengers and tourists between Norway and Europe, and on the Norwegian coast. In 1894-1895, she served a year on the Hurtigruten route on the coast of Norway, before reverting to her former duties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Skjeldam</span>

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MS <i>Otto Sverdrup</i>

MS Otto Sverdrup, formerly known as MS Finnmarken, is a Norwegian coastal ship owned and operated by Hurtigruten ASA. It was built in 2002 at Kværner Kleven, Ulsteinvik, Norway, and cost around 750 million Norwegian Kroner (nok). It was part of the Hurtigruten coastal route from 2002 to 2009. In 2010 it was leased as a hotel ship in Australia. The ship returned to Norway in 2012 and is now a part of the coastal route travelling between Bergen and Kirkenes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boreal Sjø</span> Subsidiary of Boreal Norge

Boreal Sjø AS is a subsidiary of Boreal Norge, operating road ferries and fast ferries in Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark. The headquarters are located in Hammerfest.

MS <i>Roald Amundsen</i> Norwegian hybrid powered cruise ship

MS Roald Amundsen is a new hybrid powered Hurtigruten expedition cruise ship. She was built by Kleven Yards of Norway and started her maiden voyage on 3 July 2019 from the Norwegian port Tromsø to Hamburg. She and her sister ship Fridtjof Nansen are the first hybrid-powered ships in the Hurtigruten fleet.

References

  1. 1 2 Lysvold, Susanne (6 December 2012). "Hurtigruten legger ned i Narvik og flytter til Tromsø". NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 "'Hurtigruten' (Norwegian Coastal Express) ferry, and coastal cruises". Archived from the original on 19 September 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  3. "Eies via Luxembourg: Dette er aktørene bak Hurtigruten".
  4. "Hurtigruten omorganiserer – skiller rutetrafikk og ekspedisjonscruise". 15 October 2020.
  5. Eilertsen, Hege (28 November 2017). "Hurtigruten First To Use Hybrid-Fueled Expedition Vessels". High North News. Translated by Bergquist, Elisabeth. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  6. Vaeng Sæbbe, Linda (3 February 2015). "Slik blir hovedkontoret, form og styret i nye Hurtigruten AS". Vest 24 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  7. 1 2 Hurtigruten: Ships Archived 8 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed 13 April 2015
  8. "Hurtigruten: Antarctica cruises". Archived from the original on 4 September 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  9. "Hurtigruten: Iceland cruises". Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  10. "Hurtigruten: European cruises". Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  11. "Hurtigruten: Trans-Atlantic Voyage cruises". Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  12. Bjørklund, Marco (9 July 2014). "TIRB er solgt". Troms Folkeblad. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014.
  13. "Bergen Hotel overtar Hurtigruten Hotels". Horecanytt. 19 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014.
  14. "Our ships". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  15. "MS Nordstjernen". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  16. "MS Lofoten". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  17. "MS Vesterålen". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  18. "MS Kong Harald". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  19. "MS Richard With". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  20. "MS Nordlys". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  21. "MS Polarlys". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  22. "MS Nordkapp". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  23. "MS Nordnorge". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  24. "MS Otto Sverdrup". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  25. "MS Trollfjord". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  26. "MS Maud". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  27. "MS Midnatsol". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  28. "MS Fram". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  29. "MS Spitsbergen". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  30. "MS Roald Amundsen". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  31. "MS Fridtjof Nansen". global.hurtigruten.com. Retrieved 13 September 2020.