Hurtigruten AS

Hurtigruten AS
Aksjeselskap
Industry Transport
Founded 1866 as Troms Fylkes Dampskibsselskap.
Headquarters Tromsø, Norway
Area served
 Norway
Arctic
Antarctica
Key people
 Daniel Skjeldam (CEO)
Products Bus transport
Ferry transport
Freight shipping
Cruise ships
Revenue Increase NOK 3,300 million (2013)
Increase NOK 261 million (2013)
Increase NOK 26 million (2013)
Number of employees
 1,757 (2013)
Subsidiaries TIRB
Website Hurtigruten AS (English)
MS Kong Harald (coastal express) in Moldefjorden.
MS Fram in Upernavik, Greenland.
MS Richard With (coastal express) off Bodø.
MS Kong Harald (coastal express) in Geirangerfjord.

Hurtigruten AS, formerly Hurtigruten Group ASA and Hurtigruten ASA, is a Norwegian transport corporation with headquarters in Tromsø,[1] Norway. The company provides services in bus transport, passenger ferry transport, automobile ferry transport, cruise ships, and tourism planning — in addition to operating Hurtigruten, the coastal ferry service along the Norwegian coast from which it takes its name.[2]

History

Hurtigruten AS is the result of a merger between the two previous operators of the Hurtigruten service: Ofotens og Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab (OVDS) and Troms Fylkes Dampskibsselskap (TFDS). TFDS was founded in 1866, and OVDS was established in 1868. The two companies merged in March 2006 to form Hurtigruten Group ASA, and twelve months later the merged entity assumed the name Hurtigruten ASA. In 2012, the company headquarters was moved from Narvik to Tromsø.[1] In 2015, the legal form of Hurtigruten was changed from ASA to AS.[3]

Operations

Hurtigruten coastal express service

Hurtigruten ASA is the sole operator of the Hurtigruten (literally "The Fast Route"), a daily passenger ferry, cruise, and shipping line along the western and northern Norwegian coast.[2] It operates between the southern Bergen and northeastern Kirkenes. A total of 11 ships operate the route.[4]

Cruise ships

Several former Hurtigruten ships now operate as cruise ships to Antarctica, departing from Ushuaia on the Argentine Tierra del Fuego. The route can include the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Islands.[5] Hurtigruten Group acquired the MS Fram for their tour cruises in Greenland.[4]

Other cruises include touring: Iceland,[6] the Mediterranean Region coasts and ports,[7] and the 'Trans-Atlantic Voyage' from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to Buenos Aires, Argentina.[8]

Car ferries

Hurtigruten ASA operates a number of roll-on/roll-off car ferries in Nordland, Troms, Finnmark and Møre og Romsdal.

Tourism

The company owns a number of travel related companies, including the tour operator Spitsbergen Travel and a number of travel agencies in Norway and abroad.

The Hurtigruten Museum is a maritime museum about the 'Hurtigruten' that is located in the port city of Stokmarknes, Norway. The MS Finnmarken, retired from the coastal express and a museum ship now, is located on shore beside the Hurtigruten Museum.

Former assets

Buses

Hurtigruten ASA owned 71.3% of the transportation company TIRB. The shares were sold to Boreal Transport Nord AS in July 2014 for 95.9 million NOK.[9]

Hotels

Hurtigruten ASA owned two hotels in Bergen; Neptun Hotel and Strand Hotel. The hotels were sold to Bergen Hotel in 2008.[10]

Current fleet

Current ships of the HGR fleet include:[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Lysvold, Susanne (6 December 2012). "Hurtigruten legger ned i Narvik og flytter til Tromsø". NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 'Hurtigruten' (Norwegian Coastal Express) ferry, and coastal cruises
  3. ↑ Vaeng Sæbbe, Linda (3 February 2015). "Slik blir hovedkontoret, form og styret i nye Hurtigruten AS". Vest 24 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Hurtigruten: Ships . Accessed 2015-04-13
  5. ↑ Hurtigruten: Antarctica cruises
  6. ↑ Hurtigruten: Iceland cruises
  7. ↑ Hurtigruten: European cruises
  8. ↑ Hurtigruten: Trans-Atlantic Voyage cruises
  9. ↑ Bjørklund, Marco (9 July 2014). "TIRB er solgt". Troms Folkeblad. Archived from the original on 5 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Bergen Hotel overtar Hurtigruten Hotels". Horecanytt. 19 June 2008. Archived from the original on 5 August 2014.

External links

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