Princess Ingrid Alexandra will become a godmother of Norway’s new research vessel and gets the honour of christening it.The ship will have the same name as her father.
The advanced research vessel, Crown Prince Haakon, will be named in Tromsø Harbour on Saturday, November 17th.The Crown Prince himself will speak during the ceremony said the Norwegian Polar Institute.
“This will be a joyful day for Norway’s entire polar community” said Ole Arve Misund, Director at the Polar Institute.
The vessel has cost 1.4 billion kroner and is designed for full-time operation in ice-filled waters.
During an extensive name competition in spring 2013, more than 1,000 name suggestions came in for the ship. Very many suggested our great skater, “Hjallis”, which lasted until just before the competition was completed. However, the decision fell on Crown Prince Haakon.
‘’Crown Prince Haakon is a name that represents long polar traditions from the royal prince – in addition to his great dedication and profound knowledge of climate and environment in polar regions.The name choice thus points to both tradition and future’’ said former director of the Norwegian Polar Institute, Jan-Gunnar Winther, when the election result became clear.
The ship will be used for research in the Arctic and Antarctica.The ship is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and has first-class properties for ice-navigation, the Polar Institute explained. There have already been several research posts in the Arctic, and after the ceremony,the course is set again for Antarctic waters.
The Norwegian Polar Institute owns the ship, the Institute of Marine Research is responsible for its operation, while UiT Norway’s Arctic University is the largest user.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
