Where are the ships now?

Hurtigrutens history

Hurtigrutens history In 1891, the governments steamship consultant, August Gran, presented the idea of an express route. The route would go by sea from Trondheim and north along the coast. The route would have regularity, sail all year round, be fast, and carry passengers, mail and cargo. At this time, the shipping of post to the north could take up to several months, but with a express route the post would be able to reach the north in just a few days. (Hereby the norwegian name "Hurtigruten", which in english directly translates to "Quick route").

To begin with, it was sent out a call for tenders to the idea of August K. Gran. It involved sailings twice a week from Trondheim - Vadsø during summer, and Trondheim - Hammerfest in the winter. Daytime sailings only, and the requirement for the route's speed was to reach Svolvær in 48 hours. The company that managed to keep this time would be given 150.000 NOK in annual aid from the state.

The Nordenfjeldske steamship company and the Bergenske steamship company considered it impossible to sail during winter in darkness and wind, and would not put their expensive vessels into such a risky route. The tender process gave no results.

The coastal express/Hurtigruten was first created after several failed plans and tendering processes. The idea was already invented, but the man who would realize it all was Captain Richard Bernhard With from Vesterålen.

Richard With, the captain and director of the newly established Vesteraalens steamship company (1881) in Stokmarknes, prepared a plan for the express route, a daring plan that involved sailing even at nighttime, which was groundbreaking at this time with only a small number of lighthouses and sailing marks along coast. With one sailing each week between Trondheim and Hammerfest in the summer and Trondheim and Tromsø in the winter, nine ports of call along the route (Rørvik, Brønnøysund, Sandnessjøen, Bodø, Svolvær, Lødingen, Harstad, Tromsø, Skjervøy), and one ship in operation, they would receive 70.000 NOK in annual state aid, and may 18th 1893, Richard with and VDS signed a 4-year contract with the state.

July 2nd 1893, the very first Hurtigruten-vessel sat sail from Trondheim with Richard With as the captain and Anders Holthe as the pilot. The ship was named SS Vesteraalen. Navigation aids they had available was the map and the compass, and the 28 lighthouses along the coast. The courses they were to sail had Richard With and pilot Anders Holthe carefully planned and put into the maps before the trip, so that they also could sail at night. The ship sailed on steam and
had a service speed of about 10-11 knots.

SS Vesteraalen reached Svolvær the next day, July 3rd, after 35.5 hours, and Hammerfest July 5th, half an hour before schedule. The whole distance was covered in 67 hours.

In 1894 the Bergenske steamship company and Nordenfjeldske steamship company came along, and the route was expanded to include more ships and more ports. Until 1914, the route had been extended to 5 weekly sailings. Turnaround-port was Bergen in the south and Kirkenes in the north, and Hurtigruten had already begun to attract tourists.

Hurtigruten, now internationally known as the norwegian coastal voyage, became a proper noun and a brand, a familiar concept in many parts of the world, and a name that has been associated with the highest standard of seamanship, proud and stately ships that we have been able to set our time after. For the public it will be difficult to understand the sailor achievements that have been performed to be able to keep this route running, when sailors on the open bridge only had inadequate maps, magnetic compass, clock and a few lighthouses along the coast to navigate by, and only one propeller and anchors as help in and out of ports. Captain Richard With and pilot Anders Holte have their names engraved as groundbreaking in maritime history.

Images found on the internet (Photographer and copyright unknown):

(Click on the images to enlarge)


SS Finnmarken	SS Richard With	SS Kong Harald	SS Neptun

Into the new era

Since 1936 there's been daily sailings between Bergen and Kirkenes, only interrupted by the war. Hurtigruten had a large loss of lives and ships during the war, but survived, and in the 1990s the companies invested in bigger and better ships, hoping to attract more passengers and tourists, thereby increasing revenues. Until 2003, 9 of 11 ships were replaced. It was the biggest overhaul in Hurtigruten's history. The new ships gave greater opportunities for adventure-trips, conferences and weekend cruises. The loading and unloading-arrangement and the technology onboard was also improved. The ships could now be navigated by an automated system. GPS and radar gave the possibility of navigating along a predetermined route.

In the recent times, Hurtigruten has won numerous awards for the route between Bergen and Kirkenes, and in 2005 the travel journal Lonely Planet awarded Hurtigruten as the world's best sea voyage.

MS Richard With