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Hurtigruten's Roald Amundsen to be named in Antarctica

roald amundsen by espen mills:hurtigruten
Roald Amundsen will be ushered in with a ritual invented by its namesake, polar hero Roald Amundsen PHOTO: Espen Mills/Hurtigruten
Hurtigruten's hybrid-powered Roald Amundsen will become the first ship named in Antarctica. And instead of the traditional bottle of champagne, a chunk of ice will be used.

The naming ceremony will take place in a few months when the expedition vessel makes its way to the White Continent on its maiden Antarctica voyage.

'We can think of no better place to name the truly unique MS Roald Amundsen than the waters of Antarctica, where no ship has ever been christened before,' Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam said.

Named in ice, with ice

The ship will be ushered in with a ritual invented by its namesake, polar hero Roald Amundsen, who led the first expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage, the first expedition to the South Pole and the first expedition proven to have reached the North Pole.

'For the ice you have been built ...'

When christening his famed expedition ship Maud in 1917, Amundsen switched the traditional champagne for a chunk of ice. Before crushing the ice against Maud's bow, he stated: 'It is not my intention to dishonor the glorious grape, but already now you shall get the taste of your real environment.

'For the ice you have been built, and in the ice, you shall stay most of your life, and in the ice, you shall solve your tasks.'

Godmother to be annnounced

Hurtigruten — and the yet to be disclosed godmother — will use the same ritual when naming Roald Amundsen.

The expedition vessel became the world's first cruise ship to sail for a stint purely on battery power as it left Kleven Verft on its maiden voyage off the coast of Norway in late June.