Norwegian tall ship to travel to Northwest Passage on 2025 expedition
The Norwegian Tall Ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl will visit the Arctic during its 2025 expedition to raise awareness and encourage cooperation in protecting the world’s oceans.
Besides visiting Nuuk in Greenland, the One Ocean Expedition 2025-2026, will also navigate through the Northwest Passage with stops planned in the Arctic Canadian communities of Cambridge Bay and Gjoa Haven, both in Nunavut territory.
“Our main goal is to create attention and share knowledge about the crucial role of the ocean for a sustainable future in a global perspective,” Haakon Vatle, the project Manager and CEO of Statsraad Lehmkuhl told Eye on the Arctic in a phone interview.
The ship will leave from Bergen, Norway in April 2025 during One Ocean Week, an annual event featuring events, meetings and cultural activities focused on ocean sustainability. Besides the Arctic, the ship will make several stops in Europe and elsewhere in the Americas.
The expedition will also include academics, students, researchers, and local leaders.
The academic and public activities planned for the Northwest Passage leg of the trip is being planned with the University of Tromsø, Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador, and other Canadian and international partners.
The vessel, originally built in 1914, is a three-masted sailing ship that measures 98m long and 48m tall.
It’s sailed by a crew of 25-30 people. The vessel can accommodate an additional 135 people.
Vatle said a ship of this era is the perfect choice for a voyage focused on sustainability.
“[These vessels] are even more relevant now to educate than ever because they are where the future wants to be, primarily using the wind to move our ship forward.
“We want to use our ship to make a positive difference for the ocean for future generations. In ports, the ship is used for meetings and activities focused on the ocean, along with attracting attention and being the basis of outreach projects to share knowledge about the ocean.”
The ship has also proved to be uniquely beneficial to certain kinds of science, for example when it comes to uses hydrophones, he said.
“Most research vessels make much more noise than what our ship does. Using the hydrophones on it is quite brilliant because our ship is quite silent so you can get much more of the sounds of the animals.”
Massive preparation required
Vatle stressed that travelling to the Arctic for the expedition has required extensive preparation over several months, numerous research and travel permits across jurisdictions, specialized polar training, numerous meetings with Arctic experts like the Coast Guards of the northern regions they’ll be travelling in, as well as a security committee working on the trip.
“It’s very important that people understand that when they see this ship travelling up there, that doesn’t mean it’s easy,” he said.
“It’s a very important that we pass the message that this kind of trip takes extensive preparation.”
The University of Tromsø in Norway will have the charter of the boat from Nuuk,Greenland and on through Gjoa Haven, Cambridge Bay and into Anchorage. Their groups will include student scientists as well as lecturers.
Vatle says one of the main objectives of the Canadian Arctic part of the trip is engagement with local indigenous leaders and youth to gain insights into the historical and cultural significance of the areas as well as establish new networks interested in ocean conservation.
Vatle, along with others involved in the expedition, recently visited Ottawa to lay the ground work for the expedition, visiting with Canadian officials and Inuit Circumpolar Council among others.
“We’re working to have lots of Canadians on board and having Inuit from the communities participating,” he said. “As we leave from Nuuk, our aim is to have both youth and elders together with international students.
“The ship is bearing the Norwegian flag but this is a global project.”
Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Warming springtime waters will mean more salmon in the Arctic, research shows, CBC News
Greenland: Alarming, above-average ice loss in Greenland due to rising temperatures, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Permafrost thaw impacts are wide, but not climate tipping point: study, Eye on the Arctic
Sweden: Another year of shrinking glaciers predicted in Sweden’s Far North, CBC News
United States: Bursting ice dam in Alaska highlights risks of glacial flooding around the globe, The Associated Press
This will be interesting journey, that I have done myself. It needs to be carefully planned with a keen focus on weather trends. There is definitely a sweet spot for a vessel of this type to safely take on a deployment that is planned to traverse the North Atlantic twice, East, Mid and West High Arctic, Western Pacific of North America. Fair winds, and following seas shipmates!