MS ''Nordstjernen'' (

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

: "The North Star") is a vessel constructed in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1956, and used on the

Hurtigruten ''Hurtigruten'' (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen-Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports no ...

coastal service until 2012. It was the oldest operational ship in the Hurtigruten fleet at the time of its withdrawal, and is the ship with the longest history of Hurtigruten service. In 2012, she was protected as a national heritage in Norway.

History

''Nordstjernen'' was mainly used for the Hurtigruten coastal service and for cruises to the Svalbard archipelago. She was extensively refitted in 1982/3. From 2010 to 2012 she operated continuously on the Hurtigruten coastal service. In March 2012, she was withdrawn from the coastal service, and was replaced by MS Finnmarken, which came back in Hurtigruten service after it was in Australia. Hurtigruten was using her for Svalbard cruises in the summer of 2012. In November 2012, the ship was bought by Vestland Rederi AS. In connection with the sale, she was protected as a national heritage by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Riksantikvaren). ''Nordstjernens new home port is

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, as it was with her original owner

Bergen Steamship Company The Bergen Steamship Company ( no, Bergenske Dampskibsselskab) (BDS), was founded in 1851 by Michael Krohn to operate a shipping service between the Norwegian ports of Bergen, Stavanger, and Kristiansand and the German port of Hamburg with the pad ...

(Det Bergenske Dampskibsselskab, BDS). From the end of 2012 to July 2013, she underwent an extensive restoration in Gdańsk, Poland, which was subsidized with 2.5 million NOK by Riksantikvaren. After coming back to Norway and taking part in the ''Fjordsteam'' festival in Bergen in the first days of August 2013, the new owner intends to market her as a hotel ship and for charter cruises. Finally she left Gdańsk on 9 November 2013. On her way back to Norway, she ran aground in the

Karmsund Karmsund is a strait located in Rogaland county, Norway. The long strait separates the island of Karmøy on the west and the mainland of Norway and island of Vestre Bokn in the east. The strait runs through the municipalities of Haugesund, ...

strait on 11 November 2013. There was damage to the ship which was repaired at a dockyard in

Ølensvåg Ølensvåg or Ølsvågen is a village in Vindafjord municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located at the southwestern end of the Ølsfjorden, along the European route E134 highway, just west of the municipal centre of Ølensj� ...

, and at the end of January 2014, ''Nordstjernen'' left the dockyard. Since 2015, Hurtigruten has chartered the ship they formerly owned each summer and operates it again for Svalbard cruises.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordstjernen Passenger ships of Norway Ships built in Hamburg 1955 ships Hurtigruten Merchant ships of Norway