Rendering courtesy of Hurtigruten
In order to meet increased international demand in adventure travel, Hurtigruten has signed a letter of intent to build up to four new expedition ships, two of which are firmly ordered, from the Norwegian shipyard Kleven. In a bold move that matches the rendering above, the vessels will be designed by Rolls-Royce, in conjunction with Norwegian ship designer Espen Oino. The ships are planned for delivery in summer 2018 and summer 2019.
The approximately 600-guest, environmentally-friendly vessels will be customized for the Arctic, Antarctic and Norwegian coastline with ice-strengthened hulls, and they will cater to a market the line says is worth $263 billion and has grown 195 percent in over two years. It is the biggest investment the line has ever made in its more than 120-year history.
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"This is a milestone for us and an expression of our confidence in the growth of the global market for adventure tourism" said Daniel Skjeldam, CEO, Hurtigruten. "We intend to build the most formidable expedition ships the world has seen."
Activities offered from the new ships will encompass everything from climbing and kayaking to rib tours, whale and sea eagle safaris while lectures will provide educational context onboard. Expert expedition teams will lead excursions from the ships that will measure in at 140 meters in length, 23 meters in width, 29 meters in height and 5.3 meters in draft.
"We offer our guests a truly unique experience on-board all of our ships. Every season we've seen an increase in demand from guests to travel with Hurtigruten for the unrivaled range of adventure activities we offer," said Gordon Dirker, Managing Director, Hurtigruten U.S. "It has been more than ten years since Hurtigruten last placed an order for the construction of a new ship so the prospect of being able to expand with these new vessels is very exciting."
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The new ships will join Hurtigruten's existing fleet of explorer vessels and new wide-reaching itineraries launching to regions such as the Amazon Rainforest and Arctic Canada in 2017.
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