The Ghostly Guardian of MS Nordstjernen

The MS Nordstjernen spent decades bringing passengers north across the arctic sea, and although the waters can be brought this far north, it always seemed to reach port unharmed. Some think that it could be Ernst, the ship’s ghosts.

MS Nordstjernen was built in 1956 at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. The order came from Det Bergenske Dampskibsselskab, which wanted a modern coastal steamer capable of carrying four hundred passengers. The ship was named after Stella Polaris, the North Star, long trusted by seafarers as a guide through darkness and storm.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

During a test of the fire doors on B deck, designed to slam shut automatically in case of emergency, a young German shipyard worker named Ernst was caught between the steel doors. He was crushed to death instantly.

Despite the accident, the ship was completed on schedule and departed on her maiden voyage from Hamburg to Bergen on February 24, 1956.

Ernst never came along in body. But many believe he never truly stayed behind either.

The MS Nordstjernen spent decades bringing passengers north across the arctic sea, and although the waters can be brought this far north, it always seemed to reach port unharmed. Some think that it could be Ernst, the ship’s ghosts. — *Photo: Aldebaran/Wikimedia*

A Lifetime at Sea

MS Nordstjernen remained in service for more than sixty years, making her the longest sailing ship in Hurtigruten history going all the way along the Norwegian coast until 1994. She crossed the Arctic Circle more than three thousand times without a single major accident. The boat has sailed a distance equivalent to 185 laps around the Earth, or 19 times to the moon.

Stories began circulating early in the ship’s career that Ernst had become a permanent passenger. He was said to travel from port to port, in sunshine and winter storms alike, never setting foot on land. Even in the harshest conditions, when ice covered the bridge and waves battered the hull, Nordstjernen always made it safely home.

– He is here and looks after us. We have full confidence that he wants us well. If he had wanted us to do something bad, we would have made it up, said captain Kåre Søllevold in the TV report that aired on the 2006 Norway Rundt.

The Man in the Corridors

Many passengers claim to have encountered the ship’s ghost. Ernst is most often reported on the cabin deck. Some describe him as a shadow slipping along the corridor walls. Others say they have seen the outline of a grown man, vague but unmistakably human.

Captain Ole Johan Andreassen has worked on the ship for 1.5 years and is among those who believe he has experienced the presence of the ghost. He himself is convinced that he met the restless German when he ate in the church one night. Then suddenly the door closed by itself. He probably didn’t want me to sit in the draft, the captain says, laughing.

Cabin attendants have felt his presence while cleaning empty rooms. Crew members insist he causes no trouble. On the contrary, they say he keeps them company in the smoking lounge. More than once, a visible indentation has appeared on the sofa cushion beside them, as if an invisible body had settled down to listen. Like Sailor Einar Antonsen who also believes he has encountered the ghost.

– When I have a smoke in the smoking booth, he often comes and keeps me company. Then I can see that the sofa cushion pulls down, just as if someone is sitting there, he says, pointing to the place Captain Andreassen has taken.

There are stranger encounters as well.

Female passengers have occasionally complained that someone gently stroked their hair, even though no one stood nearby. One waiter woke in the middle of the night to find Ernst sitting on the edge of his bed, dressed in a green boiler suit. Where his face should have been, there was only white mist.

Today, MS Nordstjernen has been retired from its long service of carrying cruise passengers into Arctic waters. The engines still hum. The decks still creak beneath careful footsteps. And some believe that somewhere aboard, the young shipyard worker remains at his post, faithful to the vessel that claimed his life. After all, a ship named after the North Star should never sail without a guide.

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