SS Vega was a Swedish barque, built in Bremerhaven, Germany in 1872. The Vega was the first ship to complete a voyage through the Northeast Passage, and the first vessel to circumnavigate the Eurasian continent, during the Vega expedition. Initially a troubled enterprise, the successful expedition is considered to be among the highest achievements in the history of Swedish science.
 The Vega, painting by Jacob Hägg
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS Vega |
| Port of registry |  Sweden |
| Launched | 1872, in Bremerhaven |
| Owner | Ferguson |
| Port of registry |  Dundee, Scotland |
| Acquired | 1903 |
| Out of service | 1903 |
| Fate | Missing in Melville Bay, Greenland |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Steamship |
| Tonnage | 357 DWT |
| Length | 150 ft. |
| Propulsion | Sails, 70 hp auxiliary steam engine |
| Sail plan | Barque |
Construction
editThough a sailing ship, the Vega had a 60 hp auxiliary steam engine. The hull was of wood measuring 150 ft. in length (45.72 m), a capacity of 357 DWT.
Arctic exploration
editConstructed as a whaler, the vessel was acquired and rebuilt for Arctic exploration by Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld with financial assistance from King Oscar II of Sweden and others.[1][2] On 22 June 1878 the ship set out from Karlskrona, Sweden through the Northeast Passage around the north coast of Eurasia. Blocked by ice on 28 September of that year only 120 miles (200 km) short of the Bering Strait marking the eastern end of Asia, the ship was not freed until 18 July 1879. Two days later East Cape was passed, and Vega became the first ship to complete a voyage through the Northeast Passage.[1] Returning by way of the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Suez Canal,[3] Vega also became the first vessel to circumnavigate the Eurasian continent.
Whaling and sealing
editAfter the expedition Vega returned to her original trades of whaling and seal hunting. The ship was reported sunk in Melville Bay west of Greenland in 1903, sailing under the Scottish owner Ferguson of Dundee.
Images
edit-
Vega monument in Stockholm -
Return of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld with the Vega to Stockholm on April 24, 1880 -
Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld with the Vega, by Georg von Rosen -
![Bath in Kusatsu i by Vega expedition member Olof Sörling [sv] during S/S Vega's stay in Japan September–November 1879](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Bath_in_kusatsu.jpg/120px-Bath_in_kusatsu.jpg)
Bath in Kusatsu i by Vega expedition member Olof Sörling during S/S Vega's stay in Japan September–November 1879
![Bath in Kusatsu i by Vega expedition member Olof Sörling [sv] during S/S Vega's stay in Japan September–November 1879](/wiki/File:Bath_in_kusatsu.jpg)
See also
edit- Gjøa, the first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage.
- Oscar Frithiof Nordquist, Finnish member of the expedition
- Cape Vega and Vegafonna, named after this ship
References
edit- ^ a b Baker, W.A.; Tryckare, Tre (1965), The Engine Powered Vessel, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, p. 81
- ^ Aho, Marie, A.E. Nordenskiöld Collection included in the Unesco Memory of the World Program, Tietolinja News (National Library of Finland), January 1999
- ^ Liukkonen, Petri. "Baron Nils A(dolf) E(rik) Nordenskiöld". Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi). Finland: Kuusankoski Public Library. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010.
Further reading
edit- Vegas färd kring Asien och Europa by A.E. Nordenskiöld 1880, slightly abbreviated version edited by Göran Schildt 1960 (in Swedish).
- Clerke, Ellen M. (April 1882). "The Voyage of the Vega and its results". Dublin Review. 7 (2). London: 291–320.
External links
edit- As extensive website about Vega's voyage (in Swedish)]
- Two photographs by Alexander Wilson, showing "Vega" in Dundee Harbour, 1903 (in Dundee Central Library)
- Expedition Vega 2013, Ola Skinnarmo´s search expedition for the wreck of Vega in August 2013.
Media related to Vega (ship, 1872) at Wikimedia Commons