MS Finnmarken: Hurtigruten Ship Returns to North Cape Route from Hamburg After Refit and Renaming

Von Aldebaran - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Hamburg – The Hurtigruten coastal cruise ship, formerly known as MS Otto Sverdrup, has re-entered service as MS Finnmarken following an extensive modernization and renaming. Operations for voyages to Norway, offered directly from Germany, recommenced at the Cruise Center Steinwerder in Hamburg. The refurbishment and renaming work took place starting in mid-April at a shipyard in Fredrikshavn, Denmark.

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According to Hurtigruten, the work at the Danish shipyard this spring included an overhaul of the pool deck and various technical optimizations. Furthermore, as is customary during any regular shipyard stay, routine maintenance and renewal measures were carried out. These included servicing the main propulsion engines, extensive welding and structural work, and an inspection of the MS Finnmarken's 500-meter-long anchor chain.

Visual documentation from Hurtigruten at the shipyard shows the ship being docked and its hull cleaned. Subsequently, the name MS Otto Sverdrup was removed, and the ship now sails again under its original name, MS Finnmarken. It first bore this name upon its commissioning in 2002. Between 2021 and 2025, it was temporarily named after the Norwegian polar explorer Otto Sverdrup.

The reintroduced ship name pays homage to the Norwegian region of Finnmark, which forms the northernmost part of continental Europe and extends to the North Cape. In Hurtigruten's over one-hundred-year history, two previous ships have carried this traditional name: first, a steamship built in 1912, the DS Finnmarken, which was replaced in 1956 by the motor ship MS Finnmarken. According to Hurtigruten, these historic vessels are considered icons of elegant Norwegian seafaring, known for their ornate interior wood carvings.

The current MS Finnmarken is set to depart from Hamburg this Friday evening, heading towards Norway. This year's summer route will take it along the Norwegian coastline to the North Cape, including calls at ports such as Stavanger, Bergen, the Hjørundfjord, and the Senja and Lofoten archipelagos. Thanks to its hybrid propulsion system and shore power connectivity, the expedition ship can save fuel and reduce emissions both at sea and in the fjords. When shore power is available, the MS Finnmarken operates almost entirely emission-free in port.

Itinerary of MS Finnmarken from May 16 to May 30, 2025: Hamburg – Sea Day – Stavanger – Bergen – Sea Day – Træna – Senja – Honningsvåg/North Cape – Tromsø – Reine/Lofoten – Sea Day – Hjørundfjorden – Haugesund – Sea Day – Hamburg