Harald wants Maud restored in Norway

The ship was built in 1917 for Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, as well as the explorer who made groundbreaking expeditions in the Canadian Arctic, including the first successful transit of the Northwest Passage.

Amundsen intended to use the strengthened ship to drift across the North Pole, frozen into the sea ice. However, after a number of unsuccessful attempts, Maud was finally sold to the Hudson’s Bay Co in 1925, only to develop a leak and sink three years later at Cambridge Bay, in the Canadian Arcticwhere at low tides it is still possible to see parts of the vessel above the waterline.

Maud now looks forward to being the centrepiece of a new museum at Vollen in Norway, where it was built. However, the process has not been straightforward. The Bring Maud Home group met unexpected resistance in December when the Canadian Review Board wanted more details about the removal of the vessel and further studies.

There was a tense wait because if the export permit had been delayed again there was the chance that the whole scheme would have foundered. if a Canadian party had bought the vessel, the Norwegian group would have had to relinquish its plans.

There are many who want to save the ship for posterity, and there is a groundswell of public support which even includes Norway’s King Harald.

“Our project has gained full support both from the officials in Norway as well as the public in general, and the same goes for Canada”, Jan Wanggaard of the Bring Maud Home campaign told MJ.