Hybrid-power Norwegian cruise ship will stop in Wrangell
Its sister ship next year
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TweetThe Roald Amundsen, a first-of-its-kind hybrid cruise ship powered by battery energy and fossil fuel, is scheduled for its first Haines stop on May 26 — on its first voyage to Southeast.
Norwegian cruise line Hurtigruten had the 528-passenger ship — named for the first man to cross the Antarctic — specially constructed for voyages in polar waters. The 460-foot-long ship was built in Norway and started service in 2019.
The “polar class” Roald Amundsen has “significant hull and propeller strengthening,” the company’s website said, with azimuth propellers — located in pods that can be rotated in any direction and act like a rudder — and “tunnel thrusters” on either side to improve docking, slow-speed maneuvering and emergency steering.
The ship is powered by four Rolls Royce-built engines that burn low-sulfur diesel. The Amundsen also runs with two large battery units that can charge off the engines and provide additional power as needed. The company says the hybrid design cuts the ship’s fuel consumption and emissions by approximately 20%.
In another bid to save energy, the water used to cool the engines delivers heat back to the ship through an exchange, supplying the galley, showers, ventilation systems and pool. Additional heat is supplied from the hot water boilers’ exhaust gas.
The ship has an indoor and outdoor gym, sauna, outdoor hot tubs on the pool deck, a wellness center where guests can get massages, and face, hand and foot treatments; three restaurants and complimentary room service. There is also a running track on the top deck to burn off all that room service and champagne.
For the academically minded, the Roald Amundsen contains a lecture hall and library. A “citizen science” program aboard allows guests to participate in research projects for third-party organizations, and the ship carries scientific equipment to collect samples on behalf of research institutes. Scientific personnel are on board to study seabird distribution, cloud formation, whale behavior, leopard seal populations and phytoplankton.
Its Alaska cruises this summer will range from 14 to 18 days, starting at about $6,000 per person. The ship will operate out of Vancouver, British Columbia, and is scheduled to call on Haines five times this summer.
The company now has three battery-assisted hybrid ships in its fleet, Lindström said, including the Amundsen’s sister ship Fridtjof Nansen, constructed in 2020.
The sailing begins in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, navigates the Northwest Passage to the Canadian Arctic and Alaska, then hugs the Pacific coast — San Diego to San Juan — past Ecuador, Peru, Chile and all the way down to Patagonia.
Then everyone flies to their respective homes from Buenos Aires.
The Fridtjof Nansen is listed on Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2023 calendar to arrive in Wrangell on Sept. 20.
