Hurtigruten

alt=Hurtigruten ship MS Polarlys sailing the Norwegian coast near Geiranger|thumb|MS Polarlys (1995)|MS Polarlys is one of the 11 ships that sail this route Hurtigruten (), formally Kystruten Bergen-Kirkenes ("coastal route Bergen-Kirkenes"), is a Norwegian public coastal route transporting passengers that travel locally, regionally, and between the ports of call, and also cargo between ports north of Tromsø.

The coastal route provides daily, year-round, and consistent traffic between Bergen and Kirkenes with 34 ports of call on northbound and 33 ports of call on southbound sailings. The Ministry of Transport and Communications in Norway has set minimum capacity requirements of 320 passengers, 120 berths, and 150 Euro-pallets for cargo. Historically, the route was operated jointly by several shipping companies. In 2006, the last two remaining Hurtigruten companies OVDS and TFDS merged to form the company Hurtigruten AS, named after the route. After the Norwegian transport ministry split the contract, Havila Kystruten AS has operated on the route alongside Hurtigruten AS since 2021. For daily northbound and southbound departures in all Hurtigruten ports, eleven ships are needed; seven of these are currently operated by Hurtigruten AS, four by Havila Kystruten. == History == thumb| near Bodø (town)|Bodø on her first round-trip in 1893. Hurtigruten was established in 1893 by government contract to improve communications along Norway's long, jagged coastline. began the first round-trip journey from Trondheim on 2 July 1893 bound for Hammerfest, with calls at Rørvik, Brønnøysund, Sandnessjøen, Bodø, Svolvær, Lødingen, Harstad, Tromsø, and Skjervøy. The ship arrived at Svolvær on Monday 3 July at 8 pm after 35½ hours and at Hammerfest on Wednesday 5 July after 67 hours. She was commanded by the founder of the route Richard With. At that time this was the fastest route between northern and southern Norway, and this resulted in the route being named Hurtigruten (express route). As of 2008, the Trondheim–Svolvær trip took 33 hours and the Trondheim–Hammerfest trip took 41 hours 15 min.