Meridian Polar compassMeridian Polar
A Norwegian polar story

In the wake of Maud.

A new Norwegian Arctic research vessel carrying Amundsen and Sverdrup's scientific tradition forward.

Illustration of a Norwegian polar sailing vessel held in Arctic pack ice
Illustration

The story begins with the Maud expedition and the scientist who made its drift matter.

1918

Maud sails

7 years

in the ice

156,000

landed on 6 June 1944

2029

back in the ice

Heritage

The Maud expedition and the drift that helped forecast D Day.

Seven years in Arctic ice turned a difficult voyage into a scientific inheritance.

Illustration of polar scientists recording sea ice observations beside a wooden vessel
Illustration

1918 to 1925. Roald Amundsen sent Maud into the Arctic drift. Harald Sverdrup led seven years of weather, ocean, magnetic and biological measurement.

From ice to Normandy. Sverdrup later turned wave physics into forecasts with Walter Munk. Their method helped time the D Day landings on 6 June 1944.

The line continues. Meridian Polar returns to the ice with continuous sensors, autonomous tools and open data for the next century of research.

Read the full story
The wave forecast that timed D Day was written by a man who had spent seven years frozen into the Arctic ice.

That history points to today's problem: the polar oceans still have critical gaps in observation.

Why

Why an Arctic research vessel must stay with the ice.

The largest gaps appear where satellites and summer voyages cannot stay.

In the ice

Direct measurements confirm satellite estimates of thickness, snow and changing floes.

Under the ice

Winter carbon, acidification and life beneath sea ice remain major gaps in the record.

In the polar night

Most direct Arctic Ocean observations come from summer. Meridian Polar stays through the polar night, when darkness and cold transform the ocean.

In the south

The Southern Ocean lacks year round observations where air, ice and ocean meet.

Sources: NOAA Arctic Report Card; Southern Ocean Observing System; peer reviewed satellite validation studies.

Closing those gaps needs a platform built around the work, not a ship carrying it as an afterthought.

Platform

The polar expedition platform is a connected system.

The vessel connects tools above, on and below the ice to teams at home.

Illustration of a sailing research vessel coordinating drones and underwater instruments among sea ice
Illustration

The vessel

A quiet, resilient hub built to work independently in heavy ice.

In the air

Drones map ice, glaciers and safe leads.

On the ice

Sleds and buoys follow snow and ice through winter.

Under the ice

Gliders, small robots and hydrophones work below the floe.

On board

Edge AI will join camera, thermal and radar feeds.

Technology

Home

Satellite links carry open data to researchers, ice services and classrooms.

The platform exists to turn difficult access into useful sea ice data.

Science and data

Sea ice data for the people who need it.

We measure missing parts of the polar system and share non sensitive results openly.

Sea ice and snow

Ice servicesSatellite teams

Ocean carbon and heat

Climate scientistsOcean networks

Microplastics at depth

Marine institutesArctic monitoring

Marine life and sound

BiologistsCoastal communities

Magnetic field

Space weatherNavigation teams

Coastal seabed

HydrographersLocal operators

Open by default. Data will receive a permanent record and stream live when the connection allows.

Good science also creates a capable vessel that other teams can put to work.

Charter

Charter an ice capable research vessel.

Once in service, the platform will work for science, survey, training and field teams between our expeditions.

Research charter

Instrument space, time in ice and delivered data for universities and institutes.

Robot mother ship

Launch, recover, charge and connect gliders, underwater robots and drones.

Coastal survey

Map seabeds and sample coastal waters in Greenland, Nunavut and Svalbard.

Film and education

Tell the polar expedition live through documentaries, museums and schools.

Training

Teach ice navigation, polar seamanship and field science methods.

Field support

Support expeditions and test sensors, batteries, drives and materials in cold water.

Every use builds experience toward the programme's return to the ice in 2029.

See charter areas and windows
The line

From Amundsen's Maud to 2029.

A century of polar work leads to one clear next departure.

  1. 1917

    Vollen

    Amundsen's Maud is built for the ice.

  2. 1918 to 1925

    The drift

    Sverdrup records seven years of Arctic data.

  3. 1944

    D Day

    His wave method helps set the landing date.

  4. 2018

    Home

    Maud returns to Vollen from Cambridge Bay.

  5. 2027

    Test

    Cold chamber and ice trials are planned.

  6. 2028

    Build

    The vessel will be built in Norway.

  7. 2029 to 2030

    Inaugural Season

    Planned departure from Oslo on 7 June 2029, via Svalbard, Greenland, the Atlantic and three Antarctic voyages, home on 7 June 2030.

  8. 2031 to 2033

    World Voyage

    Planned departure from Oslo on 16 June 2031 through the Northwest Passage, the Ross Sea in 2032, home to Vollen on 16 June 2033.

The route is set. Now the programme needs people and institutions to join it.

Join

Join us: three ways in.

Build the programme, use the platform or bring the polar story to a wider public.

Investors

Back testing, the prototype and the first expedition alongside public research funding.

Institutions and partners

Plan science, charter time, data delivery or cold water technology trials with us.

Schools and media

Bring live polar science into classrooms, museums, exhibitions and documentary work.

See the planned voyages

Write to Per Magne

Meridian Polar AS · Org. no. 936 919 278 · Heggumstubben 11, 3440 Røyken, Asker, Norway

Follow the work through dispatches from the line.

From the Journal

Stories behind the polar line.

Read the history, science and hard lessons that shape Meridian Polar.

All dispatches
Frequently asked questions

About Meridian Polar.

What is Meridian Polar?

A Norwegian programme building an ice capable research vessel for Arctic science.

What does it measure?

Sea ice, ocean carbon, microplastics, marine life, magnetic fields and uncharted coastal seabeds.

Who can charter it?

Universities, research institutes, survey teams, technology makers, film makers and polar training programmes.

How is the data shared?

Non sensitive data will stream when possible and be published openly with a permanent record.

How can I join?

Investors, institutions, charter customers, technology partners, schools and media can contact Per Magne.