Hurtigruten’s new hybrid powered cruise ship MS Roald Amundsen completed its first sea trials at the weekend.
The Norwegian fjords acted as the testing ground for the vessel’s advanced, green technology.
Custom built for some of the world’s most extreme waters, MS Roald Amundsen is undergoing final outfitting alongside sister ship, MS Fridtjof Nansen, at the Kleven shipyard in Ulsteinvik, Norway.
The advanced hybrid powered expedition cruise ships, capable of accommodating 530 passengers, feature as battery power packs and specially designed ice-strengthened hulls.
Three Hurtigruten hybrid powered expedition cruise are being built at a cost of $850 million to enter service in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
MS Roald Amundsen’s maiden season after delivery this spring includes expedition cruises along the Norwegian coast, to Svalbard and Greenland, before traversing the Northwest Passage and heading south to Antarctica.
Kleven CEO Olav Nakken said after the vessel’s return to the yard Monday morning: “I am very pleased with the results of the sea trial.
“The Kleven employees, along with our sub-contractors, have done a great job leading up to the successful sea trial.”