Tag Archives: MS Fridtjof Nansen

Hurtigruten’s Fridtjof Nansen To Be Christened in Svalbard

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Hurtigruten’s Fridtjof Nansen will be christened in Longyearbyen on Svalbard September 14 – in the northernmost naming ceremony ever to be held for a passenger ship, according to a press release.

“When looking for a location for the naming of MS Fridtjof Nansen, we couldn’t think of a better place than Svalbard. For expedition cruising, this is where it all began,” said Hurtigruten Expeditions CEO Asta Lassesen.

“For us, Svalbard and Spitsbergen are much more than just a destination; it’s a part of our history. As history has told us, we need to work closely with local communities when we develop sustainable tourism for future generations of explorers. When we embark on our Svalbard expeditions, we combine our 125 years of experience with our year-round land-based presence, creating jobs and value for the local community that lasts way beyond our cruise calls,” Lassesen said.

To further mark commitments and long-lasting relationships with the Svalbard community, Hurtigruten Expeditions has chosen Longyearbyen to be MS Fridtjof Nansen’s port of registry – making her the first cruise ship to proudly call Svalbard her home.

The Fridtjof Nansen will be named by breaking a chunk of ice rather than the traditional bottle of Champagne, just as sister ship MS Roald Amundsen was when she in 2019 was the first ship ever to be named in Antarctica.

The naming ceremony is set to take place on September 14 and will be live-streamed.

Tom Cruise & Mission Impossible Crew Rent Two Hurtigruten Cruise Ships

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The Hollywood star and his production crew are reportedly anchored off the coast of Norway.

There’s no mission impossible for Tom Cruise and his crew, even filming a blockbuster movie during a pandemic…

Helping to get filming safely wrapped up, Hollywood star Cruise and the Mission Impossible production crew have reportedly hired two Hurtugrten cruise ships, MS Vesterålen and MS Fridtjof Nansen.

According to Norway Today, Hurtigruten’s new ship MS Fridtjof Nansen is acting as a hotel ship for the 400 crew members, who have been housed on the ships during filming in August and September.

The ship is said to be anchored off the coast of Hellesylt, a small village in Norway, allowing the crew to get on with filming and avoid any further delays to production. Production on the new Mission Impossible 7 movie was put on hold in February due to the pandemic but has now restarted.

MS Vesterålen | Hurtigruten´s ships | Hurtigruten

While they didn’t confirm if Cruise himself was staying on the premium expedition ship, Hurtigruten did confirm the rental to Norway Today, revealing they rented the two ships out to the company Truenorth. Truenorth is currently working on the seventh Mission Impossible movie with Tom Cruise.

According to the Sun newspaper, Cruise himself picked up the bill for the rental for August and September, which came in at an impressive £500,000.

MS Fridtjof Nansen is currently docked at Hellesylt, with its use as a hotel ship confirmed by the Counsellor of Stranda municipality.

It is not known what MS Vesterålen is being used for, but there is speculation that the ship will even appear in the upcoming blockbuster.

Hurtigruten is currently operating a limited amount of cruise sailings due to Covid-19, allowing the ships to be used for private rental and filming.

MS Fridtjof Nansen was due to sail a handful of sailings around Iceland and the European Atlantic coast, but they have since been cancelled by the line.