Maud returns home

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With the once-sunken ship in Norwegian waters, the perilous part of its passage is now past

ship Maud

Photo: Jan Wangaard / NTB Scanpix
The Maud in Bergen harbor on Aug. 6, 2018.

M. Michael Brady
Asker, Norway

Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen’s Maud, the ship built for the first transit of the Northeast Passage, has been salvaged from Cambridge Bay in Canada and is being returned to Norway for restoration and display in Vollen in Asker municipality on the west bank of the Oslo Fjord, where it was built and launched in 1917 (as reported in this newspaper, “Unsinking a ship: Maud returns home,” July 13, 2016: www.norwegianamerican.com/featured/unsinking-a-ship-maud-returns-home).

In Cambridge Bay, the Maud was placed on a transport barge. Towing started on Sept. 1, 2017, and the Maud on its barge arrived in Bergen harbor on Aug. 6, 2018. At this writing, towing to Vollen is underway, with the Maud scheduled to arrive there on Aug. 18. The cost of the salvage in Canada, towing to Norway, and restoration at Vollen has been estimated at NOK 230 million ($43.2 million; explorenorth.com/library/weekly/aa082799.htm).

Further information on the overall operation is available online on the Maud Returns Home project website at www.maudreturns­home.no.

This article originally appeared in the August 24, 2018, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.

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M. Michael Brady

M. Michael Brady was born, raised, and educated as a scientist in the United States. After relocating to the Oslo area, he turned to writing and translating. In Norway, he is now classified as a bilingual dual national.