alt=Hurtigruten ship MS Polarlys sailing the Norwegian coast near Geiranger|thumb|[[MS Polarlys (1995)|MS Polarlys is one of the 11 ships that sail this route]]
Hurtigruten (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route 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.
The coastal route provides daily, year-round, and consistent traffic between Bergen and Kirkenes with 34 ports of call on northbound and 33 ports of call on southbound sailings. The Ministry of Transport and Communications in Norway has set minimum capacity requirements of 320 passengers, 120 berths, and 150 Euro-pallets for cargo. Historically, the route was operated jointly by several shipping companies. In 2006, the last two remaining Hurtigruten companies OVDS and TFDS merged to form the company Hurtigruten AS, named after the route. After the Norwegian transport ministry split the contract, Havila Kystruten AS has operated on the route alongside Hurtigruten AS since 2021. For daily northbound and southbound departures in all Hurtigruten ports, eleven ships are needed; seven of these are currently operated by Hurtigruten AS, four by Havila Kystruten.
History
thumb| near [[Bodø (town)|Bodø on her first round-trip in 1893.]]
Hurtigruten was established in 1893 by government contract to improve communications along Norway's long, jagged coastline. began the first round-trip journey from Trondheim on 2 July 1893 bound for Hammerfest, with calls at Rørvik, Brønnøysund, Sandnessjøen, Bodø, Svolvær, Lødingen, Harstad, Tromsø, and Skjervøy. The ship arrived at Svolvær on Monday 3 July at 8 pm after 35½ hours and at Hammerfest on Wednesday 5 July after 67 hours. She was commanded by the founder of the route Richard With. At that time this was the fastest route between northern and southern Norway, and this resulted in the route being named Hurtigruten (express route). As of 2008, the Trondheim–Svolvær trip took 33 hours and the Trondheim–Hammerfest trip took 41 hours 15 min.
Before Hurtigruten opened, only Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab was willing to make the trip through the then poorly-charted waters; the voyage was especially difficult during the long, dark winters. The company had for itself made detailed sailing instructions. Hurtigruten was a substantial breakthrough for communities along its path. Mail from central Norway to Hammerfest, which used to take three weeks in summer and five months in winter, could now be delivered in seven days.
thumb|Havila Capella and Havila Castor meet for the first time along the coastal express route.
New contracts
The Ministry of Transport and Communications in Norway announced in 2017 that the Hurtigruten contract was split into three contracts. The contracts were put up for bid and in the end, two were granted to Hurtigruten and one to Havila Kystruten AS, with each operating seven and four ships respectively. The two companies alternate departure days for the entire route from Bergen to Kirkenes.
The four new vessels from Havila run on Liquefied natural gas (LNG) and battery power. LNG will cut CO<sub>2</sub> emissions by 25%, and the battery power will yield additional savings. The vessels are named Havila Capella, Havila Castor, Havila Polaris, and Havila Pollux. All four vessels were built at Tersan shipyard in Turkey.
Existing vessels from Hurtigruten were modernized and renovated to meet the new requirements. The issue was resolved in June 2022 with a change of the ship's ownership.
Current fleet
As of 2024, this is a list of ships sailing on the Hurtigruten.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Name
!Built
!Gross tonnage
!Operator
!Image
!Ref
|-
|MS Vesterålen
|1983
|6,261
|Hurtigruten AS
|alt=|frameless
|
|-
|MS Kong Harald
|1993
|11,204
|Hurtigruten AS
|alt=|frameless
|
|-
|MS Richard With
|1993
|11,205
|Hurtigruten AS
|alt=|frameless
|
|-
|MS Nordlys
|1994
|11,204
|Hurtigruten AS
|alt=|frameless
|
|-
|MS Polarlys
|1996
|11,341
|Hurtigruten AS
|alt=|frameless
|
|-
|MS Nordkapp
|1996
|11,386
|Hurtigruten AS
|alt=|frameless
|
|-
|MS Nordnorge
|1997
|11,384
|Hurtigruten AS
|alt=|frameless
|
|-
|MS Havila Capella
|2021
|15,519
|Havila Kystruten
|alt=Havila Capella|frameless
|
|-
|MS Havila Castor
|2022
|15,519
|Havila Kystruten
|alt=|frameless
|
|-
|MS Havila Polaris
|2023
|15,519
|Havila Kystruten
|alt=|frameless
|
|-
|MS Havila Pollux
|2023
|15,519
|Havila Kystruten
|alt=|frameless
|
|}
thumb| in Bergen
Places visited on coastal route
thumb|Hurtigruten Route
In order, northbound:
Live television broadcast
As part of its slow television series, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation transmitted non-stop the Hurtigruten ship 's 134-hour voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes, which started on June 16, 2011.
Post-World War II accidents and incidents
thumb|Memorial in [[Bodø (town)|Bodø commemorating the incident on board Erling Jarl in 1958]]
Before World War II, a number of ships perished, usually because they ran aground in bad visibility.
Most of the Hurtigruten fleet was sunk during World War II.
In September 1954 ran aground in Raftsundet at night. The ship started taking on water and eventually sank. Of the 157 passengers and 46 crew members on board, five died.
On 8 January 1958, a fire broke out on board MS Erling Jarl while the vessel was docked at Bodø. Fourteen people died of smoke inhalation. Today a memorial to the incident stands at Bodø.
On 21 October 1962 MS Sanct Svithun ran onto a reef in the maritime area Folda in Nord-Trøndelag because of a major navigational error after leaving Trondheim. Of 89 persons on board (passengers, crew and two postal officers) 41 died.
In 2011 suffered an engine room fire, leading to two deaths among the crew.
References
Bibliography
External links
- Hurtigruten Norway: main website