MS Expedition is an expedition cruise ship owned and operated by the Canada-based G Adventures (formerly known as Gap Adventures). She was built as a car/passenger ferry in 1972 by Helsingør Skibsværft og Maskinbyggeri A/S, Helsingør, Denmark as Kattegat for Jydsk Færgefart A/S. Subsequently, she sailed under the names nf Tiger for P&O Normandy Ferries, Tiger for Townsend Thoresen and Ålandsfärjan for Viking Line, prior to conversion into a cruise ship in 2008. The MS Expedition has the IMO number 7211074 and is ice-strengthened, having an ice class of 1B. There are two higher classes, being 1A Super and 1A. Service history As a car ferry The Kattegat was delivered in 1972 and placed on the intra-Denmark Grenå—Hundested service of Jydsk Færgefart A/S. She stopped serving on that route in December 1977. In March 1978 she was sold to the London-based Midland Montague Leasing Ltd who leased the ship to P&O Normandy Ferries Ltd, also based in London. After rebuilding at Caillard S.A., Le Havre, France, the ship was renamed nf Tiger and placed on the Dover—Boulogne-sur-Mer service. In 1985 P&O Normandy Ferries was bought by Townsend Thoresen. The ship's name was shortened to Tiger, but she remained on the same service. In July 1986 the ship was laid up, and in November of the same year she was sold to Finlandshamnen AB, a subsidiary to SF Line, one of the owners of the Viking Line consortium. After being rebuilt, the ship was renamed Ålandsfärjan (in English "The Åland Ferry") and was placed on the Mariehamn—Kapellskär service in May 1987. In 1993, following bankruptcy of the other Viking Line partner, Rederi AB Slite, the Ålandsfärjans route was extended into Naantali—Mariehamn—Kapellskär (freight only on the Mariehamn—Naantali part of the route), but this solution was found impractical and soon the ship reverted to the earlier route). In 2002 the ship was rebuilt at Baltic Ship Repairers, Tallinn, Estonia, where sidesponsons were added for increased stability. In January 2007, Viking Line ordered a replacement for her to be delivered in summer 2009, codenamed Viking ADCC. On 23 October 2007, the Ålandsfärjan touched the bottom near Mariehamn. Passengers were readied for evacuation, but an inspection of the ship revealed no major damage and she was able to continue to Mariehamn under her own power, arriving some 30 minutes behind schedule. As a result of the accident, all departures until 22 November were cancelled. Investigations