Most of the cities in Norway are situated by the coast or inside the fjords, and as the mainland topography is dominated by mountains, it made most sense to establish a network of Steamships connecting cities like Hammerfest and Tromso more closely to the rest of Norway. After Hurtigruten started running, the mail from central Norway took only seven days (from previously 3 weeks).
Today, Hurtigruten still is important for local businesses and travelers along the coast, as well as they increasingly have streamlined it's ships to meet the need of modern tourists. Jacuzzis, bars, restaurants and other comforts are now standard in most of the ships.
Altogether the company runs 11 Hurtigruteships along the Norwegian coast, in addition to 54 ferries and high-speed vessels in Nordland, Troms and Sunnmøre. The company has also 2 ships in cruise traffic in the Antarctica and 1 ship under construction which is meant for sailing along the Greenland coast as well as ordinary hurtigrute service.
The main office of the company is situated in Narvik. There are also company offices in Tromsø and Stokmarknes.
Hurtigruten ASA currently employs 3400 people, of which approximately 1800 works in seabased operations, and approximately 170 works in the foreign sales organisation.
Further information:
Hurtigruten History
Hurtigruten offical webpages
