MS ''Maud'' (formerly MS ''Midnatsol'') is a

Hurtigruten AS Hurtigruten AS is a Norwegian coastal ferry service and cruise line headquartered in Oslo, Norway. It operates ''Hurtigruten'', the coastal ferry service along the Norwegian coast from which it takes its name. In 2020, 81% of the company was o ...

vessel built by Bruces Verkstad in Sweden and Fosen mekaniske verksteder in

Rissa, Norway Rissa is a former municipality in the old Sør-Trøndelag county in Norway in the Fosen region. The municipality existed from 1860 until its dissolution on 1 January 2018 when it became part of the municipality of Indre Fosen in Trøndelag coun ...

in 2003. It is the fourth ship to sail for Hurtigruten to bear this name. She has a sister ship, , which also sails for Hurtigruten. MS ''Midnatsol'' was renamed MS ''Maud'' in 2021.

History

At 4 AM on the night of 14 December 2003, the ship was on a southbound course between

Ålesund Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrative ...

and

Måløy Måløy () is a town in the municipality of Kinn in Vestland county, Norway. Måløy is located on the southeastern side of the island of Vågsøy, about northeast of the village of Holvika and about south of the village of Raudeberg. The M� ...

when the main power supply failed and ''Midnatsol'' lost all engine power. The ship was approaching an underwater reef and the anchors were set out in an attempt to stop the drift, but the attempt failed. All 102 passengers were ordered to the

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

s after an attempt to connect a towing hawser from another vessel also failed. The situation was very critical and ''Midnatsol'' sent a

Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiza ...

message. The ship was only from shore when one of the anchors finally caught. Not long after, the crew managed to restart the main engines and the ship went on to

Florø is a town and the administrative centre of the municipality of Kinn, Vestland, Norway. The town was founded by royal decree in 1860 as a ladested on the island of Florelandet, located between the Botnafjorden and Solheimsfjorden. Florø is No ...

. The cause of the engine stoppage was an overgrown inlet to the engine's coolant systems. In August 2004, the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

was recording aboard MS ''Midnatsol'' for the series'' Hurtigruten 365''. The recordings took place in one year, and the result was 20 episodes that were shown on television. On 6 June 2015 the vessel caught fire off Vardo in Southern Norway. The fire started in one of the service rooms. The crew reacted immediately, extinguishing the fire in less than an hour. No injuries or damages were reported.Ferry on fire off Norway
/ref>

References

External links

Sjøfartsdirektoratet Norwegian Maritime Authority, Vessel LEFO3 MAUDHurtigruten ASA Official homepage - MS ''Maud''MS ''Midnatsol'' PositionMike Bent's Hurtigruten-pages - MS ''Midnatsol''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maud Passenger ships of Norway Ships built in Rissa, Norway 2002 ships Merchant ships of Norway Hurtigruten