in 1877 palander returned to the royal navy and offered to become the captain on the expedition to navigate the northeast passage. for this purpose, palander secured the whaling ship "vega", and selected the crew and officers. the ship sailed from karlshamn on june 22, 1878, and arrived in tromsö, (norway) on july 17 where nordenskiöld boarded the ship. the expedition, which was carried out during 1878–1879, was ultimately successful, and shortly before the end of the voyage, he was promoted to the full rank of captain