Following our embarkation in the afternoon, we are issued with a complimentary Helly Hansen waterproof jacket, a life jacket for travelling in the zodiacs, and "Muck boots". This last item being sturdy, rubber soled boots, based on a scuba divers bootie with a stretchy neoprene top.
That evening, we attended the obligatory polar waters safety drill and met the crew.
With masterly understatement, we were told that Polar waters are, by their nature, inhospitable to human survival. The water temperature hovers around -1.8 °C with equates to a survival time of around 15 minutes.
The bonus is that we would get to wear a nifty survival suit in this years colour which gives you maybe an hour or so extra time.
There are approximately 130 passengers and about 20 Hurtigruten "Expedition
Team Members" who have backgrounds in such things as oceanography, conservation, botany, glaciology, marine biology, Inuit culture and climatology. There is as strong scientific programme of lectures and demonstrations relevant to the areas we will be travelling through.
Our ship, the MS Fram was launched in 2006 and had a major refit in 2020. She has a class 1B ice category hull which means she can cope with ice up to 50cm thick, but would be expected to rely on the services of an icebreaker as necessary.
True icebreakers are in category 1A Super.
As most people will know, crucially, for ships operating in ice, where a frame intersects a boundary between two of the hull regions the scantling requirements applicable will be those for the forward region if the forward midship boundary is intersected or for the midship region if the aft midship boundary is intersected. Readers will be happy to know that this may be the case.
Designated as a "roll on - roll off"/passenger vessel, Fram has never carried vehicles on a commercial basis, but the car deck is used for storing expedition and scientific equipment.
The ship sails at 20:00 hrs en route to southern Greenland.
The following 18 days should hopefully look like this:-
In 2018, the Fram was unable to complete this trip due to the ice conditions.
The main staircase
The Explorer/Expedition Lounge with complimentary glass to toast the voyage
These seats face forwards over the bow and are designed to rock you gently to sleep
Plenty of quiet areas
Buffet area
Our table
Looking towards the science room and lecture area
The science room
The cabin
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