Norway tries to reclaim explorer Amundsen's ship Maud

[Tank]

Norway tries to reclaim explorer Amundsen's ship Maud

A hearing on Thursday will decide the fate of a ship once captained by Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer first to reach the south pole.

The Maud is partially sunk in Cambridge Bay in Nunavut, northern Canada.

A permit to return the ship to Norway was denied in December and Canadian officials have argued the ship is crucial to the nation's heritage.

Campaigner Jan Wanggaard is spearheading a project to overturn the decision.

Called Maud Returns Home, the project would see the wreck towed back to Norway to become a museum near Oslo...

This seem a little churlish on the part of the Canadian authorities. If they valued the ship it should be in a museum already.

[Guardian85]

As a norwegian it should not be surprising on which side of this I am coming down.
There is a legal claim on the wreck as it was bought and paid for (1$) by norwegians.
And anyway, Amundsen is one of Norways biggest heroes. It is only right that such an important piece of our history be returned.

[DeterminedJuliet]

Canada is pretty sensitive about it's sovereignty in the Arctic these days. I suspect that might have something to do with it.
I agree though, the ship should be returned.

[Recusant]

Okay, "the Cambridge area's first radio station" is all very well, but given the location of the vessel, I have a feeling not many people visit the site.  In fact, I would be surprised if more than a small handful of people (outside of local residents) have made a conscious effort to see it in all the years since it sank in 1930. I think it would get more appreciation in Norway's hands. On the other hand, it seems that the Canadian government is listening to local folks who want to keep the wreck where it is.

[DeterminedJuliet]

Whoever would like to keep it should really remove it out of the ocean or there won't be much left to fight over soon. It reminds me of wreck on the west coast of Newfoundland called the "Ethie". It ran aground in 1919, and you can see it from the shore, but there's not much left of it now.



The arctic/atlantic ocean isn't exactly kind to man-made relics.