Instead of the traditional bottle of champagne, MS Roald Amundsen’s will be christened with a chunk of ice in honour of its explorer heritage.

As the world’s first hybrid-powered expedition ship, MS Roald Amundsen has already made history and continues to do so with the announcement that she will be the first ever ship to be christened in the southern continent.

The naming ceremony will take place this autumn, as the ship makes her way to the white continent on her maiden Antarctica voyage.

“We can think of no better place to name the truly unique MS Roald Amundsen than the waters of Antarctica – where no ship has ever been christened before,” commented Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam.

The ship has been named after polar explorer Roald Amundsen, who famously led the first expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage, the first to the South Pole and the first expedition proven to have reached the North Pole.

When christening his expedition ship Maud in 1917, Roald Amundsen switched the traditional bottle of champagne for a chunk of ice. By reviving this tradition, Hurtigruten honours his memory and legacy. The cruise line has not yet revealed who will be the godmother to carry out this ceremony.

As she left on her maiden voyage from Norway in late June, MS Roald Amundsen made maritime history for being the first cruise ship to sail purely on battery power. Specially designed for exploring some of the most spectacular waters of the planet, the ship features ground-breaking green technology.

MS Roald Amundsen’s maiden season includes expedition cruises along the Norwegian coast, to Svalbard and Greenland, before becoming the first hybrid-powered ship to attempt a traverse of the legendary Northwest Passage – following in the wake of Roald Amundsen’s famed expedition.

In addition to eco-friendly expedition cruises along the west coast of North- and South America, the MS Roald Amundsen will also journey to the south for a full 2019/2020 Antarctica season.