Norway’s Hurtigruten is getting its first “new” ship in 10 years in 2016.
Built in Portugal in 2009, the 7,000-ton, 320-passenger Atlantida, has been named the Norwegian Explorer. Hurtigruten did not release a purchase price.
The Atlantida is a car and passenger ferry and was intended to sail been Portugal and the Azores, but reportedly never went into service.
The Norwegian Explorer will sail along the Norwegian coast, replacing the Midnatsol, which will be redeployed to Antarctica for the 2016-2017 winter.
When the Midtnatsol returns in spring of 2017, the new ship will go to the Arctic.
Having sold off assets over the past several years in an effort to turn its financial performance around, with new owners, Hurtigruten’s strategy going forward is to build up its capacity, according to company sources.