Cruise Ship Gets Within 298-miles of the N. Pole

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises say that their expedition ship 'Hanseatic' has set a new record for passenger ships in the Northeast Passage, when the 122.8-metre-long ship reached the northernmost point at 85°, 40.7'N and 135°, 39.6' E.

Captain Thilo Natke comments: “Unusual ice conditions made this record possible. North of the New Siberian Islands in the Russian Arctic, there was a large ice-free zone stretching north through the Arctic Ocean, which we used for this spontaneous detour.” In temperatures of around zero degrees and a brisk north-easterly wind, the passengers took a Zodiac ride along the edge of the pack ice. This event was then celebrated in style with a party on deck.

Hapag-Lloyd add that the expedition through the Northeast Passage set off from Nome/Alaska on 12 August 2014 and will continue on to Severnaya Zemlya in the next few days. It will feature expeditionary landings followed by cruises through the Kara Sea, Novaya Zemlya, the Barents Sea, Murmansk (end of the Northeast Passage), Hammerfest/Norway and Bodö/Norway, where the expedition will come to an end on 10 September 2014.

The Hanseatic was built to provide intensive exploration in the most elegant surroundings for a maximum of 175 guests, say the owners. The design of the ship – including the highest ice class for passenger ships (E4) – allows the vessel to travel to destinations previously inaccessible to a cruise ship.