In 1864 he graduated from the Royal Swedish Naval Academy at Karlberg Palace as a second lieutenant and participated in expeditions to the Mediterranean, Sierra Leone and Liberia on the corvette Gefle, as well as in a trip to the United States.

After several other appointments at sea, Louis Palander participated in Nordenskiöld's expedition to Spitsbergen in 1868, on board the steamer Sofia.

He was also the ship's captain on the steamer Polhem during Nordenskiöld's winter expedition to the Spitsbergen islands in 1872–1873, where he significantly contributed to the scientific work.

From the base camp at Mosselbay, Palander and nine other men accompanied Nordenskiöld on the unsuccessful attempt to reach the North Pole in May–June 1873.

In 1889 he was promoted to commander and in 1893 he was appointed as chief of the supply service (intendenturavdelningen) for the Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration.