Vega (steam bark, 1873)

Vega (Vega) - a sailing-steam bark , a whaling ship on which the Swedish Arctic expedition of N. A. E. Nordenskiöld in 1878–1879 passed the Northeast passage along the northern coast of Europe and Asia from the Atlantic Ocean to Silent and, having rounded Eurasia , returned to Sweden (with one wintering place).

Vega
Vega
Painting by Jacob Högg. Noteworthy flag with a union icon
Flag
Ship class and type	Sailing Steam Bark
Manufacturer	Wencke-Werft, Geestmünde ( Bremerhaven )
Launched	January 1873
Commissioned	1873
Removed from the fleet	1903
Status	Sunk on May 31, 1903 in Melville Bay
Main characteristics
Length	43 m
Width	7.4 m
Draft	4.6 m
Engines	Steam engine
Power	60 l. with.
Travel speed	14 knots
Autonomy swimming	2 years in polar expedition mode
Crew	from 21 to 66 people
Register tonnage	355 reg. t.

The Vega bark was built in Bremerhaven ( Germany ) in 1872 as a whaling ship commissioned by the Norwegian shipowner Pedersen. The original name of the barque is Jan Mayen . The ship was very strong and was specially designed for the conditions of the Arctic.

In 1878, the whale striker was acquired for the Nordensheld expedition that was being prepared and re-equipped at the royal naval shipyard in Karlskron . After the restructuring, the crew of the vessel was reduced to 21 people, commanded by the vessel Lieutenant of the Swedish Navy L. A. Palander ^[1] .

During the expedition, the ship did not undergo any damage, after its completion it was again sold to the whaling company and served in Greenland until 1903, when Vega sank, rubbed with ice in Melville Bay .

On April 24, 1930, a monument was erected in Stockholm , opposite the Royal Museum of Natural History.