MV Maud
ex Midnatsol
© Gerolf Drebes (Leaving Berlevag, Norway 30/07/2016)
Steel twin azimuth pods motor vessel built in 2003, Hull constructed by Bruces Shipyard AB (Bruces Verkstad AB), Landskrona, Sweden. Completed by Fosen Mekaniske Verksteder AS, Rissa, Norway (Yard No 73) as a Roll-On/Roll-Off Ferry/Cruise Ship for Troms Fylkes DS (TFDS)
Technical Data
- Length: 135.75 m (overall) 118.70 m (between perpendiculars)
- Breadth: 21.50 m
- Depth: 13.0 m
- Draught: 5.10 m (Max)
- Tonnage: 16151 gross/6353 net/1184t deadweight
- Engines: 2 x Wärtsilä W9L32 – 9 cylinder diesel
- Power: 8280 kW/5630 bHP
- Speed: 15 knots (Service) 18 (Max)
- Passenger Decks: 7
- Capacity: 1000 – 500 passengers/45 cars
- Call Sign: LMDH, LEFO3
- MMSI Number: 258595000
- IMO Number: 9247728
- Port of Registry: Tromso/Norway 🇳🇴
- Sister Ships: Trollfjord
Current AIS Location
Please note that this specific vessels AIS position data may be over an hour old and that the vessels position will only be displayed when it is within range of the VesselFinder AIS system. The AIS transponder/ship position data featured on this page is intended for information purposes only and it is in no way related to the 'Safety of Navigation at Sea'. All the AIS ship position data featured within this article is provided by VesselFinder and we are therefore not responsible for its content or its accuracy.
History
October 17th 2001: Keel struck.
April 26th 2002: Launched as MIDNATSOL. Towed to Rissa, Norway for fitting out.
March 11th 2003: Completed for Troms Fylkes DS (TFDS), Tromsø, Norway..
March 21st 2003: Arrived in Hamburg.
March 22nd 2003: Christened in Hamburg.
April 14th 2003: Hurtigruten service between Bergen – Kirkenes.
December 14th 2003: “On a southbound course and navigating between Alesund and Maloy, when the main power supply failed and all engine power was lost. The vessel was approaching a reef. The released anchors tried to stop the drift but failed.
All passengers (102 at the time) were ordered to the lifeboats. Luckily, one of the anchors caught the main engines were restarted and she dragged herself free. The cause for the accident was an overgrown inlet to engines’ coolant systems.”.
December 15th 2003: Resumed service.
January 22nd 2006: Arrived in Gothenburg.
© Simonwp (New Waterway, 29/01/2006)
January 29th 2006: Arrived in Rotterdam.
February 2006: During the Winter Olympics in Turin, used as a hotel ship in Savona, Italy.
March 2006: Registered to Hurtigruten Group ASA, Narvik, Norway.
© Robert J Smith (Tilbury inward bound for the Pool of London, 24/03/2006)
October 22nd 2006 – November 30th 2006: Chartered to Norsk Hydro, for use as an accommodation vessel in Hammerfest.
January 7th 2007: Left Bergen for Oslo.
January 9th 2007: Arrived in Oslo.
January 14th 2007: Left Oslo for Bergen to resume service Bergen – Kirkenes
February 11th 2019: Announcement made that she would be transferred from Hurtigruten’s existing coastal express fleet into its expedition fleet by 2021. To be used for year-round expedition cruises.
2021: Fitted with battery packs to allow the engines to operate using hybrid power. Shore-powered equipment also mean the ships can operate using only battery power when docked in ports with shore power facilities.
May 2021: Renamed MAUD for owner: Hurtigruten Cruise AS, Norway. Manager: Hurtigruten Expedition Technical Services GmbH, Hamburg – Germany
© Geir Vinnes (Bergen, 14/05/2021)
September 17th 2021: Due at Dover where she will begin a Dover based winter season comprising of 13, 15-day itineraries along Norway’s coastline.
December 29th 2021: Called at Dover.
© Nigel Scutt (Dover Strait Shipping)(Dover, 29/12/2021)
© Nigel Scutt (Dover Strait Shipping)(Dover, 03/09/2022)
March 4th 2023: Came off her cruise schedule and sailed to Bremerhaven.
March 5th 2023: Arrived Bredo Yard, Bremerhaven for refit.
© Christian Eckhardt (Bremerhaven, 29/03/2023)
April 7th 2023: Left Bremerhaven and resumed service.
May 1st 2023: Called at Dover.
December 21st 2023:
“A Norwegian cruise ship has been left without power in the North Sea after a rogue wave and hurricane-force winds shattered windows on its bridge, Danish authorities have said.
The MS Maud’s 266 passengers and 131 crew were safe, a spokesperson for the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (DJRC) told Reuters.
They added that two towage vessels from a civil rescue firm were helping to keep it stable.
“They just need to calmly get through the storm, and they do this by sailing upwind,” the spokesperson said.
The vessel left Floroe in Norway on Thursday and was due to arrive in Tilbury in the UK on Friday.
It was sailing around 120 miles (200km) off Denmark’s west coast and 205 miles (330km) off the east coast of the UK when water entered the vessel’s bridge, resulting in a power outage.
Its main engine was still functioning, allowing the ship to be steered manually from the engine room.
Data from the shipping traffic website Vesselfinder.com showed on Friday that MS Maud had barely moved since Thursday night.”
Sky News
December 23rd 2023: Arrived Bremerhaven.
© Christian Eckhardt (Bremerhaven, 23/12/2023)
April 12th 2024: Left Bremerhaven for trials.
April 14th 2024: Provisionally due at Dover to commence her 2024 Cruise Schedule.
All information is believed to be correct and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. All items included in this article are subject to © copyright. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking: Gerolf Drebes, Christian Eckhardt, Nigel Scutt (Dover Strait Shipping), Simonwp, Robert J Smith and Geir Vinnes for their assistance in producing this feature.
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)
