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Wikipedia

Hurtigruten or Hurtigruta (literally "Express Route", but sometimes referred to as Norwegian Coastal Express in English) is a Norwegian passenger and freight line with daily sailings along Norway's spectacular western and northern coast. Ships sail almost the entire length of the country, completing the roundtrip journey in 11 days. The trip has been described as the "World's Most Beautiful Sea Voyage." Highlights include the Hanseatic League city of Bergen, the Geiranger fjord (summer only), and the Lofoten Islands.

Company history

Hurtigruten traces its origins more than one hundred years back; it was established in 1893 by government contract to improve communications along Norway's long, jagged coastline. Originally, only one shipping company, Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab, was willing to take on the job of sailing the then poorly charted waters; the voyage was especially difficult during the long, dark winters. Hurtigruten, which roughly translates as "the express route," was a substantial breakthrough for communities along its path. Mail from central Norway to Hammerfest had taken three weeks in the summer (and up to five months in winter), now it could be delivered in a mere seven days.

Encouraged by Vesteraalens' early success, several other shipping companies obtained concessions on the route, and the Hurtigruten service expanded to the current round trip between Bergen in the southwest, and Kirkenes in the far northeast. A fleet of 11 ships ensures that each of the 34 ports is visited twice daily; once by "Nordgående" (Northbound) and once by "Sørgående" (Southbound).

Beginning in the 1980s, the role of Hurtigruten changed; operating subsidies were gradually phased out and the operators put more emphasis on tourism. New, bigger and more luxurious ships were introduced, with attention given to jacuzzis, bars, restaurants and other comforts. However, Hurtigruten still serves important passenger and cargo needs, and operates 365 days a year.

The last two independent shipping companies, Ofotens og Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab (OVDS) and Troms Fylkes Dampskibsselskap (TFDS), merged on March 1 2006 and changed their name to Hurtigruten Group (Hurtigruten ASA from April 2007). Besides the traditional coastal voyage, the new company also operates ferries and high-speed regional express ships in Norway, and exotic Greenland, South American and Antarctic cruises.

Fleet

The classical coastal steamer vessel Finnmarken (previous to the current vessel of the same name), built in 1956, is now on dry land at Stokmarknes as a museum for tourists, used to show Hurtigruten over the years. A new Finnmarken has since been added to the fleet. Two vessels of the oldest generation are still in daily line use, MS Nordstjernen (built in 1956) and MS Lofoten (1964), although only in winter as replacements for vessels that are used for Antarctic cruises in this time. The other vessels currently in use were all built between 1982 and 2003, most of them in the late 1990s or early 2000s. An additional new ship, MS Fram, named after Fridtjof Nansen's famous expedition ship Fram, was delivered in 2007. She is used exclusively for cruises, around Greenland during the northern hemisphere summer season, and around Antarctica during the northern hemisphere winter season.