''Maud'', named for Queen Maud of Norway, was a ship built for

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Am ...

for his second expedition to the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

. Designed for his intended voyage through the

Northeast Passage The Northeast Passage (abbreviated as NEP; , ) is the Arctic shipping routes, shipping route between the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, Pacific Oceans, along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Russia. The western route through the islan ...

, the vessel was built in

Asker Asker (), also called Asker proper (''Askerbygda'' or ''gamle Asker'' in Norwegian), is a district and former Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus, Norway, located approximately 20km southwest of Oslo. From 2020 it is part of the ...

, a suburb of the capital,

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. ''Maud'' was launched in June 1916Unsinking a ship: Maud returns home - Roald Amundsen and Maud
/ref> or 17 June 1917Maud Returns Home
/ref> at Vollen and ceremonially christened by Amundsen crushing a chunk of ice against her bow:

Career

She lived up to her christening, as she remained in the ice until 2016. Whereas other vessels used in Amundsen's polar explorations, ''

Gjøa ''Gjøa'' is a museum ship and was the first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage. With a crew of six, Roald Amundsen traversed the passage in a three-year journey, finishing in 1906. History Construction The square-sterned sloop o ...

'' and '' Fram'', have been preserved at the Norwegian Maritime Museum, ''Maud'' had a more rugged fate. After sailing through the

, which did not go as planned and took six years between 1918 and 1924, she ended up in

Nome, Alaska Nome (; , , also ''Sitŋazuaq'', ''Siqnazuaq'') is a city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough, Alaska, Unorganized Borough of the US state of Alaska. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula c ...

and in August 1925 was sold on behalf of Amundsen's creditors in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. The buyer was the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

, which renamed her ''Baymaud''. She was to be used as a supply vessel for Company outposts in Canada's western Arctic. Prior to her final voyage ''Baymaud'' was given a refit in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. (The work was supervised by Tom Halliday, who later designed the RCMP vessel '' St. Roch'', based on ''Maud.'') In the winter of 1926 she was frozen into the ice at

Cambridge Bay Cambridge Bay (Inuinnaqtun: Inuktitut syllabics, Inuktitut: ; 2021 Canadian census, 2021 population 1,760; Census geographic units of Canada#Population centres, population centre 1,403) is a Hamlet (place)#Canada, hamlet located on Victoria Is ...

, where she sank in 1930. The wreck lay just offshore, across the inlet from the community's former Hudson's Bay Company store. Nearby is the site of the former Cambridge Bay LORAN Tower, built in 1947.

Salvage

In 1990 the ship was sold by the Hudson's Bay Company to Asker with the expectation that she would be returned to the town. Although a Cultural Properties Export permit was issued, the price tag to repair and move the ship was 230 million kroner ($43,200,000) and the permit expired. In 2011 an Asker-based company, Tandberg Eiendom AS, in the project Maud Returns HomeMaud Returns Home
/ref> announced a plan to return ''Maud'' to Norway. They intend to build a museum in Vollen to house her, near where she was built and had purchased a barge to move her. Concern about the plan came from the community of Cambridge Bay,

Parks Canada Parks Canada ()Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 37 National Parks, three National Marine Co ...

, the

Government of Nunavut The Government of Nunavut ( Inuinnaqtun ''Nunavut Kavamanga''; ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. In modern Canadian use, the term ''Government of Nunavut'' refers specifically to the executi ...

, the International Polar Heritage Committee, and some people in her intended destination. Initial refusal of a new export permit from the federal government, on the grounds of a lack of a full archeological study was later reversed on appeal in March 2012. The salvage operation was under way in the summer of 2015, with a plan to return the hull to Norway in the summer of 2016. AO7E8669

On 31 July 2016 it was reported that the hull of ''Maud'' had been raised to the surface and placed on a barge in preparation for shipment to Norway. In August 2017 ''Maud'' began the journey back to Norway; she was towed through the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...

. In September 2017 she arrived in Greenland to stay for the winter. ''Maud'' arrived in Bergen on 6 August 2018, finally returning to Norway nearly a century after her departure with Amundsen. She was then towed along the Norwegian coast, and arrived at Vollen on 18 August.

Gallery

File:Amundsen Maud 1998-06-28.jpg, The wreck of ''Maud'' near

, on the south coast of

Victoria Island Victoria Island () is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the eighth-largest island in the world, and at in area, it is Canada's second-largest i ...

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, Canada in 1998. File:Maud risen 02.jpg, ''Maud'' on the surface in 2016. File:Maud being tugged through the Bellot Strait.jpg, ''Maud'' being towed through the

Bellot Strait Bellot Strait is a strait in Nunavut that separates Somerset Island to its north from the Murchison Promontory of Boothia Peninsula to its south, which is the northernmost part of the mainland of the Americas. The and strait connects the Gul ...

towards Greenland in early September 2017. File:Tandberg Polar tugging Maud through the Bellot Strait.jpg, ''Tandberg Polar'' towing ''Maud'' through the Bellot Strait towards Greenland in early September 2017. File:Maud at Tofte.jpg, ''Maud'' with protective roof at

Tofte, Norway Tofte is a village in the Asker (municipality), Asker municipality in Akershus, Norway. It is situated on the Hurum Peninsula on the Oslo Fjord. It is the second largest settlement in Hurum. Before 1897, there were no densely populated areas ...

in March 2020, while awaiting a new museum building for her. File:Flag of the Maud.svg, Pennant flown from the mast of the ship during her original tenure. It was also later flown from the hull of the wreck during the barge journey back to Norway.

References

External links

Maud at the Fram Museum
- Photos
Maud Returns Home
- Salvage project initiated and realized by Tandberg Eiendom, Norway (completed in 2019) {{Hudson's Bay Company Arctic exploration vessels Individual sailing vessels 1916 ships Ships built in Norway Tall ships of Norway Asker Sailing ships of Canada Kitikmeot Region History of Nunavut Shipwrecks of the Canadian Arctic coast Art and cultural repatriation Maritime incidents in 1930 Hudson's Bay Company ships Icebreakers of Norway Icebreakers of Canada