Midnatsol

After the power outage aboard the 'Maud', which has 266 passengers and 131 crew members on board, the ship drifted for a period in the six-seven meter high waves with rescue helicopters on standby in both Denmark, Norway, Germany and Great Britain, should an evacuation become necessary. But the situation was stabilized and the Defense Operations Center left it to Esvagt to get vessels out to the ship to escort it. The 'Maud' was steered from the engine room, without navigational aids and radar, and was underway at 2-3 knots escorted by the 'Esvagt Server' (IMO: 9592977) and 'Esvagt Cornelia' (IMO: 9678434) on Dec 22.

Hurtigruten is to convert three of its existing passenger vessels into hybrid-powered expedition cruise ships that will operate year-round itineraries along Norway’s coast from 2021. Finnmarken, Trollfjord and Midnatsol will all be equipped with upgraded low-emission engines, battery packs and other green technologies to “drastically cut” their emissions. In addition, they will have technology to enable them to connect to shore power facilities and operate emission-free when docked in ports. Finnmarken will be upgraded in 2020 while the other two vessels are scheduled to be converted in 2021. “At Hurtigruten, the push for sustainable solutions and introduction of green technology is the core of everything we do,” said Daniel Skjeldam, CEO of Hurtigruten. “We operate in some of the most spectacular areas of the world. This comes with a responsibility.”

Norwegian cruise and ferry operator Hurtigruten is investing heavily in an eco-friendly luxury refit program for three of its existing vessels - the 2002-built Finnmarken, 2002-built Trollfjord and 2003-built Midnatsol. All three will be repowered with new Tier 3-compliant engines, along with battery packs and hybrid drive systems. This will make them the second, third and fourth hybrid cruise ships in the world (after the Hurtigruten hybrid newbuild Roald Amundsen). They will also receive new shore power connection systems. The Finnmarken will be the first to receive the upgrade in 2020, followed by Trollfjord and Midnatsol in 2021.