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Tord Karlsen

Fabrice Schnöller and Andreas Heide debrief over a warming drink in the galley of Barba. Heide says: “My primary objective is to bring people like Schnöller into the field, to provide a platform so that we can learn more.”

Fabrice Schnöller listens to sperm whale click communications via the hull-mounted hydrophone from the saloon of Barba.

Spotting a dark sperm whale on a dark sea – and its blow vapour on a choppy one – is no easy task. Note the small dorsal fin of the species.

Sperm whales take just 5-10 breaths at the surface before diving for up to 40 minutes.

Approaching Andøya at sunset.

The team hopes their work studying the sperm whales at this latitude will give insight into the behaviour of this enigmatic species – and the way they communicate within their pods.

Heide and Schnöller enter the water to approach three young male sperm whales. Sperm whales do not spend a lot of time at the surface and can dive for extended periods, so being nimble is key.

A whale dives. Deep water prey such as squid is thought to be a staple of this whale's diet; the sperm whale is the largest toothed predator on Earth but much is still mysterious about its deep-water behaviour.