Hunt is on for polar explorer Amundsen’s seaplane

The Royal Norwegian Navy will use its latest Kongsberg Maritime HUGIN 1000 AUV in the search for Amundsen. Photo courtesy of www.searchforamundsen.com.

On Aug. 25 Norway’s navy set sail for the Barents Sea to track down the missing plane used by legendary polar explorer Roald Amundsen, who disappeared 81 years ago and hopefully resolve one of the Arctic’s enigmas, reports AFP.

For about 10 days, two vessels will scour 36 square nautical miles (120 square kilometres) of seabed close to the island of Bjørnøya in a bid to locate the remains of Amundsen’s seaplane.

“We are about to embark on a bold initiative which provides the only opportunity to solve one of Norway’s most enduring mysteries; what happened to Roald Amundsen and his men?,” expedition leader Rob McCallum of New Zealand wrote on his blog on Monday.

Click here to read more about the search