Roald Amundsen arriving in Bay City 2010

''Roald Amundsen'' (often abbreviated ''Roald''; named in honor of Norwegian polar explorer

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...

), originally named ''Vilm'', is a German steel-ship built on the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

River in 1952. Having worked in different areas, she was refitted in 1992 to 1993 as a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

(two-masted

square-rigged Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called ''yards'' and ...

sailing ship) and now serves as a sail training ship. During summer, she usually operates in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

, and usually embarks for journeys to farther destinations for winter, including several trans-Atlantic crossings.

Description

''Roald Amundsen'' has a

length overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

of , a length of hull of and a waterline length of . The vessel has a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a maximum draft of . ''Roald''s masts reach a height of and are rigged with 18 sails with a total area of . The vessel has a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of 480 tons and has a tonnage of . ''Roald Amundsen'' has an 8-cylinder Buckau-Wolff

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

rated at named Emma. The vessel is equipped with two generators, one of , the other of . The ship can carry 180 tons of ballast. ''Roald Amundsen'' has crew of 17 with up to 31 trainees embarked.

Ship history

The

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

of the ship was built at the shipyard ''Roßlauer Werft'' on the Elbe River in

Roßlau Rosslau (in German orthography: Roßlau) was until 30 June 2007 a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, belonging to the district Anhalt-Zerbst. After a fusion with the town of Dessau it became eponym of the newly founded town of Dessau-Roßlau and a qua ...

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, in 1952. Originally intended for fishing as a deep sea fishing lugger, plans were changed before the completion of the ship, and she was then instead built as a type of tanker. The vessel was completed at the shipyard '' Peene-Werft'' in

Wolgast Wolgast (; csb, Wòłogòszcz) is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river (or strait) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom on the Baltic coast that can be ...

, Germany, on the Baltic Sea. Named ''Vilm'', the ship was put to use for the

National People's Army The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) an ...

(NVA), first as a tanker and supply vessel, operating out of Peenemünde and crewed mainly by civilian seamen. Converted to a transporter for bilge water in the 1970s on the Peene-Werft, ''Vilm'' then made regular trips to the bases of the National People's Army to take the ships' bilge water to a centralized treatment facility. This service was discontinued at the end of 1988. After not having been used for a year, ''Vilm'' was towed to Neustadt in Holstein and there at the navy base used as living quarters. At the beginning of 1991, the ship was put up for sale by the Vebeg GmbH, a corporation to sell federal property. Detlev Löll and Hanns Temme purchased the ship at an auction and, with the help of some of the former crew, sailed the ship to

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

. In spring 1992, a complete overhaul began, in the course of which the ship received a new exterior

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

and was refitted as a brig; the rig includes five square sails at each mast and includes lifting yards for the upper-three yards (upper main topsail, topgallant and royal) at each mast, lowering the center of gravity of the ship when sails are furled. The overhaul was subsidized by the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the

Bundesagentur für Arbeit The Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency, BA) is a German federal agency in the area of responsibility of the Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs and has its headquarters in Nuremberg. Its current director is Andrea Na ...

and formed part of the

job creation program Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the referen ...

"Fridtjof Nansen" (led by the owner), which comprised the refitting of this ship as well as other sailing ships and . In 1993, the ship was put to its new use under the name of ''Roald Amundsen''. It was chartered by the newly founded sail training club ''LebenLernen auf Segelschiffen e.V.'' (short: LLaS; German: learning to live on sailing ships). After a short intermezzo with another sail-training club, ''Segelschiff Fritjof Nansen e.V.'', in 1993, ''Roald Amundsen'' has since been chartered by the LLaS and used for sail training. ''Roald Amundsen'' now operates all year around as a sail training vessel with voyages lasting between one and three weeks. Her home port is

Eckernförde Eckernförde ( da, Egernførde, sometimes also , nds, Eckernför, sometimes also ) () is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is ...

, a harbour city in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

near

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

in northern Germany. Summer months are spent with voyages on the Baltic Sea from Denmark to Baltic countries or the North Sea. Winters are spent in warmer regions. ''Roald Amundsen'' has repeatedly crossed the Atlantic Ocean, bound for South American ports in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

(1998), for

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally- rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or fe ...

s events in North America (2000, 2010), and for the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

(2001, 2011/12, 2012/13). Further destinations include

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

(1995), England and Ireland (2006), the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

(2006/07, 2007/08), the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

(1995), and others. During her North American voyage in 2010, ''Roald Amundsen'' visited the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and there met with the US brig ; the two brigs formed an unofficial friendship, and as of 2013, ''Roald Amundsen'' still flies a flag of ''Niagara'' at some occasions such as the Tall Ship Parade at Kiel Week. Another friendship, based on their respective crews on board for Kiel Week, has been formed with the German wooden schooner ''

Amphitrite In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (; grc-gre, Ἀμφιτρίτη, Amphitrítē) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and the wife of Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).Roman, L., & Rom ...

''; both ships have established a tradition of berthing next to each other during the event. The ship has participated in the

Tall Ships' Races The Tall Ships Races are races for sail training "tall ships" (sailing ships). The races are designed to encourage international friendship and training for young people in the art of sailing. The races are held annually in European waters and c ...

and is rated as a Class A tall ship by

Sail Training International Sail Training International (STI) is an international sail training organisation, with members in 29 countries. Its main aim is to train sailing skills to young people. It is based in Hampshire in the United Kingdom and is a registered charity.UK b ...

.Sail Training International: Roald Amundsen
/ref>

References

External links

{{Commons category, IMO 8994489
Website of the brig ''Roald Amundsen''
Individual sailing vessels Tall ships of Germany Brigs Training ships 1952 ships Ships built in Wolgast Ships of East Germany