Two giants of polar exploration

Fridtjof Nansen – the man and the ship

Quick Nansen facts:

• Famous for crossing Greenland on skis in 1882
• Led several expeditions by ship in the Arctic
• Received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 for his humanitarian work
• In honour of his legacy, Hurtigruten's new ship is named MS Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Nansen was born just outside Christiania (Oslo) in 1861. He studied zoology at the university and decided to cross Greenland on skis in 1882. The expedition was a success and made Nansen famous, and was a breakthrough for Norway as a polar nation.

Scientific work

Nansen led several expeditions to the Arctic and oceanographic expeditions in the North Atlantic. He was appointed Professor of Oceanography at the University of Oslo and it was really in marine research that he did his greatest scientific work. Nansen has been referred to as the founder of modern deep-sea research. Nansen was a member of the League of Nations and he contributed to sending home the large number of prisoners of war after WW1.

 

Nansen the Nobel Peace Prize winner

In parallel with this, he became increasingly involved in other humanitarian work. In the newly established Soviet Russia, a famine ravaged. About a million Russians received help through the relief work Nansen started. In 1922 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian efforts.

New expedition ship

Hurtigruten has also been at the forefront of maritime exploration – since 1893 – pushing boundaries and journeying to new horizons from pole to pole. Our groundbreaking new hybrid powered expedition ship, MS Fridtjof Nansen, is set to honour Nansen’s legacy.

The expedition ship reflects his passion and respect for people and exploration; it's the greenest, most advanced cruise ship in the world. Nansen’s legacy as a scientist is carried on in various academic fields, and guests can explore this with the expedition team members on board.

Roald Amundsen – the man and the ship

Quick Amundsen facts:

• First explorer to reach the South Pole in 1911
• Led the first expedition to successfully cross the Northwest Passage
• A pioneer in polar research
• First hybrid powered expedition ship, MS Roald Amundsen, was groundbreaking in the cruise industry

Roald Amundsen was born in 1872 and began studying medicine in 1890. Soon after, he decided to devote himself to polar research instead. His first voyage was to Antarctica in 1897-1899, and in 1903, he sailed out of Oslo aiming to locate the magnetic north pole which would make earth magnetic measurements and observations more precise.

The infamous Northwest Passage

He also wanted to cross the Northwest Passage, which no one had done before. The almost three year-long expedition succeeded in crossing the passage. During the many, long stops because of ice conditions, Amundsen made in-depth studies of the lives of the Inuit, and important ethnographic material was collected.

The Antarctic race

After returning as a hero, Amundsen began to plan and raise funds for an expedition to the North Pole. When both Frederick Cook and Robert Edwin Peary announced that they had reached it in 1909, Amundsen chose to revise his plans. The journey went south – to Antarctica.

 

In 1910 he sailed to Antarctica with the polar ship Fram. Together with four other expedition members, he was the first to reach the South Pole on December 14, 1911 – five weeks before his competitor Robert F. Scott.

Another milestone - and a disappearance

In 1926 he and a small crew flew over the North Pole with the Italian-built airship ‘Norway’ and became the first to cross the Arctic. Amundsen perished in 1928 near Bjørnøya in search of airplanes following the Italian Umberto Nobile's unsuccessful expedition. His body has never been found.

Groundbreaking ship

Hurtigruten has a heritage of adventure and proudly sail in this great explorer’s wake. Our first hybrid powered expedition ship, MS Roald Amundsen, was groundbreaking in the cruise industry. Amundsen’s relentless pursuit of challenges and amazing achievements in exploration is reflected in the ship as the greenest, most advanced cruise ship in the world.

 

MS Roald Amundsen also embarks on immersive expeditions across the globe, from the far Arctic reaches of the Northwest Passage down to Antarctica. Amundsen’s legacy as a scientist is carried on in Amundsen Science Center where guests, staff and crew meet, mingle and create a deeper understanding for the areas we explore.