Norwegians prepare to bring famed Arctic ship home

Preparations are underway for a complex operation to salvage the Maud shipwreck near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, in the summer of 2013.

Jan Wanggard is the head of the group Maud Returns Home, which was awarded an export permit in March to repatriate the historic shipwreck.

The ship has been sitting partially submergedin shallow waters off Cambridge Bay since it sank in 1930.

"It will be a submersible barge so we can actually sink it under the water and lift it again," said Wanggard.

Wanggard said they willbring a barge from Norway to the site. They plan to attach air balloons to the barge to lift it out. Wanggard said that will allow them to put the ship on the barge and then tow it back to Norway.

They expect the transfer to take a couple of weeks.

Once they start, the group will only have 90 days to move the ship out of the country or their permit will expire.

Many people are concerned the Maud will break during the extraction or transport, but Wanggard said things should go smoothly.

"We are very optimistic about the structural strength of the Maud as it is because it has not been broken down by rot or any kind of microorganisms," he said.

Wanggard said his group estimates they will spend between $1 million to $3.5 million on the export project.

The group hopes to display the wreck in a museum back in Norway.