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HX Expedition Ship · Built 2020
Named after Norway's explorer, scientist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, she is the hybrid powered ship behind HX's most popular Antarctica voyage, the 12 day Highlights of Antarctica from Ushuaia.
About the Ship
If Amundsen was the great achiever of polar history, Fridtjof Nansen was its great all rounder. Born near Christiania (now Oslo) in 1861, he trained as a zoologist and did pioneering work on the nervous system before turning to exploration. In 1888 he led the first crossing of the Greenland ice sheet, skiing from the empty east coast to the settled west with five companions. Nobody had done it before, and the expedition made him a national hero while still in his twenties.
His next idea was bolder still. Driftwood from Siberia had been found off Greenland, so Nansen reasoned that the Arctic ice must move across the Pole. He had a ship built with a rounded hull that the ice would squeeze upwards rather than crush, called her Fram, and in 1893 deliberately froze her into the pack ice north of Siberia. She drifted for nearly three years. Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen left the ship with skis, sledges and dogs, reached a record 86°14′ north, and spent a winter in a stone hut in Franz Josef Land before a chance meeting with a British expedition brought them home in 1896. The drift proved his theory and laid the foundations of modern oceanography.
The second half of his life was spent helping people. As the League of Nations' High Commissioner, he organised the return home of hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war after the First World War, led famine relief in Russia, and in 1922 created the Nansen passport, an identity document that allowed stateless refugees to cross borders and find work. More than fifty countries came to recognise it. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize the same year. A ship that carries curious people to wild places, and asks them to look after those places, seems a fitting tribute.
MS Fridtjof Nansen followed her sister MS Roald Amundsen out of the Kleven yard in 2020 and is, to all intents, her twin. She has the same hybrid propulsion, with battery packs that support her engines and cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 20 percent compared with similar ships, and the same Polar Class 6 hull for working in ice. Where she differs is in what she does. In the 2026/27 season she is the workhorse of HX's Antarctic programme, running fourteen departures of the Highlights of Antarctica between October and March. That makes her the ship most of our first time Antarctica customers sail on, and her crew are very good at helping newcomers find their sea legs on the Drake Passage.
On Board
The interiors are calm and Scandinavian, with oak floors, wool throws, slate and birch, and the public rooms are arranged so that you are rarely more than a few steps from a window or an open deck. On a five day Peninsula voyage you will spend much of your time ashore or in the small boats, so the ship's job is to make the in between hours feel easy: a warm drink after a landing, a good lecture, a hot tub with an iceberg drifting past.
High up on the ship with panoramic windows, this is where people gather with a drink before dinner and where the Expedition Team present the daily recap and the plan for tomorrow.
The ship's à la carte dining room, with dishes inspired by the regions HX explore. Included for suite guests, and bookable for a charge if you are in a cabin. Aune and the casual Fredheim diner are included for everyone.
Indoor observation areas with floor to ceiling glass let you watch the ice in the warm, and open decks are only a door away. Expedition Team members often lead wildlife watches, calling out whales, seals and the albatrosses that follow the ship across the Drake.
The ship carries a fleet of small expedition boats for landings and ice cruising, plus kayaks for those who book a paddle. Boots and trekking poles are lent to you for the voyage.
Elsewhere you will find the Science Centre with its microscopes and lecture screens, an infinity pool and two hot tubs, a panoramic sauna, indoor and outdoor gyms, a wellness area and spa and an onboard shop. A doctor and nurse sail on every voyage. Our life on board page has more on the daily routine and the Citizen Science projects you can join.
Ship Facts
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Shipyard | Kleven Verft, Norway |
| Year built | 2020 |
| Flag | Norway |
| Gross tonnage | 20,889 |
| Length | 140 metres |
| Beam | 23.6 metres |
| Service speed | 15 knots |
| Guests | Up to 490 |
| Cabins | 265, every one with a window, about half with a balcony |
| Ice class | Polar Class 6 |
| Propulsion | Hybrid, engines supported by battery packs |
| Sister ship | MS Roald Amundsen (2019) |
| Facilities | Science Centre, Explorer Lounge & Bar, three restaurants, infinity pool, two hot tubs, panoramic sauna, indoor and outdoor gyms, 150 metre running track, wellness area and spa, medical centre, expedition boats and kayaks |
Where You Sleep
The cabin layout mirrors her sister's. All 265 cabins and suites face outwards, and each has a shower room with bathrobe and toiletries, a TV, safe, minibar (charges may apply), tea and coffee making facilities and European two pin sockets. Double beds are standard in most cabins; let us know when you book if you would prefer twins. If you are torn between grades, our advice is simple: a balcony is lovely, but the ship's decks and lounges are where most people end up spending their time.
| Code | Type | Description | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expedition Suites | |||
| MA | XL Suite | The largest suites on board: corner position, private balcony, large windows, sofa bed. Deck 8. | 46 to 48 m² |
| MB | XL Suite | Corner suite with large windows, bathtub, seating area and a double Murphy bed for extra guests. Deck 5. | 44 m² |
| MC | Corner Suite | Private balcony with its own hot tub. Decks 7, 8 and 9. | 20 to 30 m² |
| MD | L Suite | Wheelchair accessible corner suite with balcony and bathtub. Deck 7. | 35 m² |
| ME | Suite | Private balcony, with sofa bed or seating area. Decks 8 and 9. | 22 to 28 m² |
| MF | Suite | Corner suite with large windows and a chaise longue, no balcony. Deck 7. | 22 m² |
| Arctic Superior | |||
| XT | Balcony cabin | Balcony cabin with sofa bed or seating area. Decks 7 and 8. | 18 m² |
| XTD | Balcony cabin | Balcony cabin with double bed. Decks 7 and 8. | 15 to 19 m² |
| XTJ | Balcony cabin | Balcony cabin with a limited view. Deck 7. | 18 m² |
| XY | Balcony cabin | Wheelchair accessible balcony cabin. Deck 7. | 19 m² |
| TT | Large cabin | Spacious outside cabin without balcony, some with sofa bed. Decks 4 and 5. | 27 m² |
| TY | Large cabin | Wheelchair accessible outside cabin. Deck 5. | 24 to 26 m² |
| Polar Outside | |||
| RR | Outside cabin | Comfortable outside cabin with window, some with sofa bed. Decks 4 and 5. | 19 to 23 m² |
Wheelchair accessible cabins are MD-701, XY-719, XY-726, TY-533 and TY-540; these may also be sold for general booking. Wheelchairs must be no wider than 60 cm, and landings involve stepping in and out of small boats. All information is subject to change by HX.
2026/27 Season
She sails two itineraries this season: the short, classic Peninsula voyage from Ushuaia, and a single long late season sailing that finishes in Buenos Aires.
12 days · up to 5 in Antarctica
Fourteen departures from 30 October 2026 to 9 March 2027. Buenos Aires, a flight to Ushuaia and five days on the Antarctic Peninsula.
View voyage
19 days · up to 5 in Antarctica
One departure on 19 March 2027. Antarctica, the Falklands and Puerto Madryn, sailing all the way back into Buenos Aires.
View voyageHX occasionally swap the sister ships between itineraries, so you may also see MS Fridtjof Nansen listed on some departures of the Iconic Antarctica and Antarctica & Falklands voyages. We always confirm the ship for your date. Compare all three ships on our HX fleet page.