‘It is magical to swim surrounded by the Arctic winter in all its brutal glory’: an eco cruise in Norway’s far north

28.02.2024 - 11:03 / theguardian.com

The view from the ship’s bridge is what I expected: a ribbon of dark Arctic water leading through a maze of snowy mountain islands. But the view of the bridge is a shock. Where is the wheel, the chart and that big metal thing that goes “ting”? You know, the one marked “Dead Slow” and “Full Steam”, like you see in Titanic when they spot the iceberg? In its public areas, the Havila Capella looks like any modern cruise ship or upmarket ferry. There are lounges, a panoramic bar, a couple of gyms and a deck that can be strolled. It is what lies behind the bulkheads that is very different.

On a bridge that is more USS Enterprise than Titanic, Captain Brynjard Ulvøy checks the flatscreen displays. “You see, if we increase speed … ” He nods at the first officer in the comfortable chair who taps another screen. “We drain the batteries and use more liquid natural gas.” Another nod and the ship eases back a little. “At this speed, we are at our most economical.”

The chief engineer, BjørnJones, puts it like this: “Remember the first hybrid cars? We are at that stage with ships.”

Liquified natural gas has been criticised for its methane emissions, but on this ship other pollutants are reduced and the batteries allow four hours of low-emission sailing in environmentally sensitive areas. When Havila Capella was built, its twin 43-tonne batteries, each housed in a tennis court-size compartment, were the largest in the world.

I hurry away, back to the world of the passenger. We are on a cruise from the Norwegian port of Bergen to the most northerly fishing village in the world, a place far beyond the limit of most human settlements inside the Arctic Circle. On board we have an astronomer, ready to answer questions about the stars and aurora, should they appear. This being a winter cruise also means the weather can play a part: storms have already blown out our departure from Bergen and we had to meet the ship in Trondheim, then make a rapid departure as another squall came bashing up the fjord. Best-laid plans get rewritten, and I’m enjoying the unexpected: instead of a hike up a mountain near Ålesund, I find myself visiting the aviation museum in Bodø.

Ocean-going ships have not been environment-friendly since the Victorian heyday of tea clippers like the Cutty Sark and Thermopylae, but the search is on. First came coal-fired then diesel, now liquid natural gas, which is largely methane cooled to -162C. “LNG ships can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 23%,” says Dr Kayvan Pazouki, lecturer in marine, offshore and subsea technology at the University of Newcastle. “Not only that but they cut nitrogen emissions by up to 80% and eliminate sulphur and particulate matter.” However, there are drawbacks. “Savings in