Greetings from Norway

[ombugge]

The Coastal Express Service has existed fir 130 years and still going strong:

Hurtigruten; Norwegian Coastal Express To Mark 130 Years

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Scenic Eclipse is in town tonight:

Seen here in Vestfjorden 02.Sept. 2023:

Explore the Scenic Eclipse - Deckplans & Suites

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Only zero emission Cruise ships will be allowed to visit Geiranger from 2026:
Green cruising: Norway's World Heritage fjords are becoming emission-free.
Here you see why:

This is how the cruise ship “Anthem of the Seas” presented itself in Geiranger this afternoon.
PHOTO: MARIA DAHL WATTØ
PS> They are probably burning LSHFO and using scrubbers, so it looks worse than it is.

Rita Berstad Maraak, harbor manager in Stranda municipality explains that the smoke is largely water vapor

• The clean smoke becomes extra visible in narrow fjords, especially on a day with sun and little wind, like today, she says.
  - Is the smoke dangerous?
• Based on the information we have received, there is no question of a dangerous discharge, but the ship must follow current environmental regulations. (Only MDO/MGO while in port)
  We expect that the shipowners’ team will now ensure that everything is as it should be, and then it is the Norwegian Maritime Directorate who supervises.
  Smoke like this does not necessarily mean that something is wrong, but we understand very well that people react, and therefore we report all such deviations, says Maraak.
  - Has there been a similar case with the same ship before?
• We have not received reports of anything similar before when the ship was here in the area. I would like to think that it is a one-off case, but it should not happen anyway.

Also in Olden, on Wednesday, people reacted to similar smoke from Anthem of the Seas, according to the newspaper Fjordingen.

Source: Dette bildet får folk til å reagere - smp.no

PS> On hot and calm days like today colder air at elevation put a “lid” over the fjord due to the high surrounding mountains. This is a know problem and has resulted in similar pictures from a time when the were no regulations on the type of fuel allowed while in port, or transiting in the fjords.

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Finally there are no snow to be seen on the mountains:

At least from this part of town, but you only need to move a mile or two towards the east and there are still some permanent snow and iced to be seen in shadowy spots.

[dbeierl]

@ombugge

the smoke is largely water vapor

That doesn’t look like steam to me.

[ombugge]

What is left after the scrubber has done their work is mainly water vapor as far as I understand it.

This process adds significant amounts of vapour to the exhaust—which causes the release of exhaust that appears as white smoke when vented.

Source: Wet scrubber - Energy Education

[ombugge]

This is not water vapor but good old fashion diesel smoke:

The diesel smoke must be removed and replaced with battery operation. This is how the company The Fjords wants to sail emission-free on the Geirangerfjord. PHOTO: STAALE WATTØ
M/F Veøy is one of two ferries that operate Hellesylt - Geiranger v.v. in the sommer season:

The ferry site

The company “The Fjords”, which operates the tourist ferries between Hellesylt and Geiranger, says it is out of the question for them to switch to hydrogen operation when the requirement for zero emissions in the world heritage fjords is introduced from 2026.
The message from The Fjords is ready. Hydrogen is not suitable, says CEO. John Vonley.

• It is completely out of the question for us to switch to hydrogen. We think batteries are much more suitable for such short trips, says Vonli.

At the same time, the company Norwegian Hydrogen is building a new hydrogen factory in Hellesylt.
For them, it is important to get a contract for the supply of hydrogen to the ferries between Hellesylt and Geiranger.

• It is very important to us, even if we are going to produce the hydrogen so reasonably that it will be competitive on price even if we have to transport it far into the country, and even out of the country. We are established in Hellesylt primarily to make our region emission-free, and it would then be a shame if our green hydrogen, produced by dammed river power in Hellesylt, is produced here and then transported away to cut emissions in other counties, says Berge. (CEO, Norwegian Hydrogen A/S)

Vonli (CEO, The Fjords) says they plan to electrify the two ferries Veøy and Bolsøy that have been used on this route in the past.

• We plan to remove the old diesel machinery on these ferries and install battery packs instead, he explains. The battery packs must be so large that it must be possible to go from Hellesylt to Geiranger and back again without charging.
• On the route between Hellesylt and Geiranger, we believe a battery solution is far better than using hydrogen, he says.

Source, smp.no today: – Det er helt uaktuelt for oss - smp.no

M/F Bolsøy:

The tourist ferry Bolsøy is decorated and ready for a new season between Geiranger and Hellesylt from 1 April. (Photo from the archive)

The ferry site

A jumpy amateur video from M/F Bolsøy:

M/F Bolsøy

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A floating amusement park with hotel, entertainment and casino facilities (aka Cruise ship “Norwegian Prima”) on her way out from Ålesund after nightfall last week:

Photo: Roger Zahl Ødegård

“Norwegian Prima” was Delivered from the yard in Aug. 2022. She has been a regular visitor this summer.
She is here again today:

Arr. from Akureyri, Iceland this morning with ETD at 2200hrs. tonight, heading to Geiranger.

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Mein Schiff 3 arrived from Bremerhaven 0700 hrs. this morning and still here at 2300 hrs.
Lite up like X-Mas tree:

She is getting ready to leave for Geiranger at midnight, hence has been disconnected from shore power and fired up an engine.

Tomorrow will be a busy cruise day in Ålesund, with 4 ships visiting:

• Arcadia arrive at 0800 hrs. and leave for Leknes, Lofoten at 1700 hrs.
• Norwegian Star arrives at 0815 hrs. and leave for Bergen at 1800 hrs.
• Otto Sverdrup arrives at 1230 hrs. and leave for Trondheim at 1830 hrs.
• Iona arrives from Southampton at 1830 hrs. and leave for Olden the next day at 1800 hrs.

[Hogsnort]

I was surprised to find out that they can have up to 4 ships in Geiranger at a time, I couldn’t imagine it.
The shore gangway unfolding like a Swiss Army knife was a great piece on engineering and I take my hat off to the bus drivers.

[ombugge]

@Hogsnort

I was surprised to find out that they can have up to 4 ships in Geiranger at a time

Even 5 ships:

Older picture copied from web camera (available on smp.no) from the comfort of home in Singapore.
No Seawalk and smaller ships at that time, though.

If the ban on anything but “zero emission” ships entering the UNESCO Heritage fjords from 2026 actually become reality the cruise ships will have to call at Hellesylt or Ålesund only.
The passengers can go by smaller local excursion boat into the Geirangerfjord, or on overland trips by bus, as some already do.

Just curious; have you been on a cruise in Oslo and Geiranger recently?

[Hogsnort]

Yes. From New York to Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Longyearbyen. Then South Honningsvag, Tromso, Loften, Narvik, Geiranger, Bergen. Oslo by train then 40 hours flying home.

[ombugge]

That is quite a long cruise and itinerary, visiting some interesting places in the Arctic.
Hope you had an enjoyable time, with good weather and lots of midnight sun.
PS> Don’t envy you that 40 hrs. flight, Hope you had some stopover enroute.

[ombugge]

Looks like this itinerary fits your description:

Source: Greenland, Iceland, Norway & Beyond: Cruise Overview
Good choice. Here is why, in my opinion:
Viking Ocean Cruises – What Viking Is Not

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@Hogsnort

The shore gangway unfolding like a Swiss Army knife was a great piece on engineering and I take my hat off to the bus drivers.

To refresh your memory.
From the Seawalk to the Skywalk:

Seawalk Geiranger

Dalsnibba - NORWAY - Up the mountain in 4K

Imagine driving an 18-m tour bus full of of exited tourists on this trip.
Or riding a bicycle, up or down:

Cycling Dalsnibba-Geiranger, Norway

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Yesterday evening two P&O Cruise ships met near the pilot boarding ground in Breisundet.
The Arcadia was leaving and Iona arriving Ålesund:

Photo: Magnar Lyngstad

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Norway’s most terrifying road. Lysebotn, Rogaland, Norway.

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In the Hardangerfjord, near Rosendal you find a unik floating restaurant that serves gourmet meals and teach visitors about salmon farming:

Salmon Eye - World's largest floating art installation

Link to their website: https://en.salmoneye.no/

Washington Post visited and made a short video about the experience:

Perspective | 18 courses, no murder: A floating restaurant right out of ‘The...

Video: https://wapo.st/3RFSlZ3

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Ålesund today, 01.Oct. 2023:

Photo: Bjørnar Berg