Hurtigruten Group has been forced to cancel its remaining Antarctic expeditions for the rest of the season this year and in the first quarter of 2021.

The Norwegian firm said it made the decision because the global Covid-19 pandemic has created an unpredictable operating environment.

"The Covid-19 pandemic is still affecting large parts of the world and travel restrictions and quarantine requirements are wide spread and changing rapidly," the cruiseship and ferry operator said in a filing to the Oslo Stock Exchange on Thursday.

For the same reasons, Hurtigruten has also reduced capacity on its coastal service in Norway at the request of the Norwegian Ministry of Transportation.

In November, just two of the carrier's passengerships operate a limited service between Bodo and Kirkenes.

Forward bookings still positive

Hurtigruten said that many of its passengers who had booked expedition cruises have chosen to postpone their trips rather than request a refund.

The company said the level of refund claims "continue to be significantly below the industry average", with unclaimed refunds standing at around €1.5m ($1.8m), according to an exchange filing on Thursday.

Hurtigruten added that demand for expedition cruises remains strong in the second half of 2021 and into 2022.

Bookings for the second half of next year are 8.4% higher compared to the first six months of 2020, according to the company.

Likewise, bookings for 2022 are currently 97% higher than at the same point last year for 2021.

In September, Hurtigruten said it was cancelling all its cruises until January 2021.

Police probe and other challenges

Meanwhile, police in Norway are investigating whether Covid-19 protocol was breach on one of Hurtigruten's vessels, causing an outbreak of the illness in July on board the 21,800-gt expedition vessel Roald Amundsen (built 2019).

A total of 36 crew members on the cruiseship tested positive for Covid-19, despite strict preventative protocols being in place.

As TradeWinds reported last week, Hurtigruten is also looking at raising funds from selling property interests, while its cruiseships remain in port due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company has been approached by "several external parties" interested in buying the assets and has now decided to start a process to consider its options.