The maiden voyage of Hurtigruten’s new ship Roald Amundsen’s has been delayed by a week.
The line said ongoing work to the interiors has “not progressed as expected” and the line has issued a statement saying that putting an unfinished ship into service was “not an option”.
The maiden voyage will now depart from the ship’s homeport in Tromsø on July 3, rather than in Hamburg, Germany on June 27.
Passengers booked on the original maiden voyage have been offered to be transferred to the new maiden voyage at a discounted price.
Hurtigruten will also cover passengers’ Hamburg travel costs as well as their flights to Norway.
Thomas Ege, the line’s vice president for global communications, said: “Putting an unfinished ship into operation is not an option. Neither is cancelling her maiden voyage.
“As world leaders in exploration travel, the Hurtigruten team handcrafted an alternative maiden voyage – set to start a few days later in MS Roald Amundsen’s home port of Tromsø.
“With large battery packs and other groundbreaking green solutions, Roald Amundsen will explore some of the most spectacular areas of the planet – starting with the maiden voyage along the coast of Norway.”
The line has already been forced to delay the ship’s launch once before after the Kleven shipyard in Norway, where the vessel is being built, was hit by financial issues.
Roald Amundsen’s inaugural season was cancelled altogether as a result. The ship had been due to launch exactly year ago.