Expedition Cruise News

Expedition cruise company SunStone Maritime Group A/S recently received its sixth Infinity class vessel, the Ocean Albatros. Final documentswere signed on Thursday, April 20, completing delivery of the vessel from the CMHI Shipyard in Haimen, China, to the SunStone companies. The ship will be on a year-round charter to Albatros Expeditions.Infinity Class Vessels are 104 m long and 18 m wide, with a draft of 5.1 m. They feature a passenger capacity between 130 and 200 and a crew capacity between 85 and 115.

SunStone Maritime Group A/S took delivery of two Infinity class ships -- Sylvia Earle and Ocean Odyssey -- from the CMHI Shipyard in Haimen, China. The pair are the fourth and the fifth of the Infinity class delivered from China Merchant Heavy Industries, and both will be on long-term, year-round charter: the SYLVIA EARLE with Aurora Expeditions, and the OCEAN ODYSSEY with Vantage Deluxe World Travel.The Infinity series of ships represents a collaboration between European design and technology and Chinese shipbuilding.Infinity class ships measure 104 x 18m with a 5.1m draft.

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings took delivery of National Geographic Resolution from Ulstein Verft, marking the official completion of the line’s second polar new build. Present at the handover ceremony in Ulsteinvik, Norway for the official signing was Nikolaos Doulis, Senior Vice President, New Buildings and Kenneth Pettersen, Project Director at Ulstein Verft. The vessel is now ready to set off for her inaugural polar voyage on November 17, 2021 to Antarctica, South Georgia and…

Lindblad Expeditions officially launched the newest addition to its fleet, National Geographic Endurance, at a dockside christening ceremony in Reykjavik, Iceland, the first christening of an international vessel in Reykjavík Harbor.The occasion, a closed ceremony exclusively for Lindblad Expeditions guests, marked a major milestone for the line as the first polar new build in the company’s history. Named to honor legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton, National Geographic Endurance…

Crystal Endeavor, the 164 x 23-m, 20,200 GT ice-class expedition yacht was built at MV Werften and recently named in in Stralsund.The first luxury expedition yacht with ice class built in Germany is being dubbed 'the fastest, highest-performance and most spacious expedition mega yacht in its sector' with a passenger space ratio of more than 100. Her Polar Class PC6 classification enables her to navigate Arctic and Antarctic regions. She offers a total of 100 suites of between 28 and 105 m² with 24-hour butler service for a maximum of 200 passengers.

Cruise ship operator Viking has this week informed that its first expedition ship – the 378-guest Viking Octantis – was floated, marking a major construction milestone and the first time that the new ship touches water.The float out is important because it denotes a ship moving into its final stage of construction. The float-out ceremony of Viking Octantis took place on December 22. The ship was then moved to a nearby outfitting dock for further construction and interior build-out.

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. named David Goodman as its Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer, effective November 9, 2020. Goodman spent more than years running divisions of global multi-media organizations, overseeing revenue, marketing, content creation, production, product/technology, distribution and oversight of some of the world’s most recognizable brands and properties. Most recently he served as Executive Vice President, Marketing and Digital Development at Sotheby's.Under his leadership…

Norwegian cruise ship operator Hurtigruten has decided to cancel the remaining of the Antarctica 20/21 season cruises - from January and throughout the first quarter of 2021, citing the impact of the pandemic. It will also reduce the capacity on the Norwegian coast.The decision follows Hurtigruten's announcement in September when it said it would suspend remaining cruises in 2020, with plans to resume operation in January 2021."The Covid-19 pandemic is still affecting large parts of the world and travel restrictions and quarantine requirements are wide spread and changing rapidly. Given these challenging circumstances and that the developments are unpredictable…

Norway's Hurtigruten has called off its remaining cruises this year due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in Europe and the Americas, the company said on Thursday."Our goal is to resume operations in January 2021," the company said in a statement.The decision affects Hurtigruten's so-called expedition cruises, which often take passengers into Arctic or Antarctic waters, though its business of shipping goods and people between ports along the Norwegian coast will continue.The company was the first cruise operator worldwide to return an oceangoing cruise ship to service in mid-June…

SunStone's new expedition cruise vessel 'Ocean Explorer' was launched last week at the CMHI shipyard, China, Ulstein, the vessel designer has informed.The ship is number four in the INFINITY class of X-BOW expedition ships, all designed by Ulstein. The vessel for which the keel was laid in January, was launched on Wednesday, August 12, 2020.INFINITY Class Vessels are 104 meters long, and 18 meters wide, having a draft of 5.1 meters. They feature a passenger capacity between 130-200 and a crew capacity between 85 and 115.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Marine Machinery & Equipment (MHI-MME) has won a rare order to supply two retractable fin stabilizers for two 148-passenger Luxury Expedition Vessel being built by Helsinki Shipyard of Finland.Both fin stabilizers are scheduled for delivery to Helsinki Shipyard by the first half of 2021, said a press release from the Japanese  smart technology group.These vessels will be used for Polar cruises from Europe to the North and South Poles, depending on the season. The fin stabilizers will reduce the roll of the vessels at sea and help provide a comfortable voyage for passengers.This is the first fin-stabilizer order from Europe in 12 years since the 2008 order from Aker Yards.

MS Roald Amundsen, a battery-hybrid powered expedition cruise ship operated by Hurtigruten, has been exploring waters further south than any ship operated by the line in its 127-year history.The world's first hybrid electric-powered expedition ship crossed the Antarctic Circle and kept going, reaching the ice edge at 70 degrees south on Wednesday at 4:14 p.m. on February 19th Antarctica time."Our guests are thrilled! This is what Hurtigruten's expedition cruises are all about, pushing new frontiers and creating unique experiences for guests from all over the world. We are following in the footsteps of polar hero Roald Amundsen himself…

Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Endurance successfully completed its first sea trials in Storfjorden, the entrance to Norway’s Geirangerfjord.The next-generation expedition ship is a purpose-built for polar navigation and the first polar new build for Lindblad Expeditions.During the trials, the ship was put through a series of exercises which tested engines, azipods, navigation systems and emergency maneuvers.The first of two new polar vessels for the line, the 126-guest National Geographic Endurance is fully stabilized with the highest ice class (PC5 Category A) of any purpose-built passenger vessel, and features the distinctive X-Bow which will afford the smoothest…

Chinese cruise shipbuilding company CMHI Haimen yard carried out the keel laying ceremony for the 'Ocean Explorer'. This is the fourth ULSTEIN X-BOW design in the INFINITY class of expedition cruise vessels that the U.S. based shipowner SunStone Ships has contracted to CMHI.The 'Ocean Explorer' is based on the ULSTEIN CX103 design featuring the X-BOW® by Ulstein Design & Solutions.The INFINITY Class vessels are 104,4 m long and 18,4 m wide. They have a passenger capacity of 264, and a crew capacity of 99, small enough to give an exclusive atmosphere, large enough to yield all expected services and facilities, such as jacuzzi, bar and restaurant, boutique, open-air cinema, gym and spa.The flexible design of the INFINITY class series opens up to new possibilities for every new vessel.

Aurora Expeditions, the luxury cruise company that offers services to Antarctica and Arctic,  will build a second expedition ship, the Sylvia Earle, scheduled to debut in October 2021.The 126-passenger vessel  named ‘Sylvia Earle’, to honor the renowned marine biologist, oceanographer and explorer.The order comes shortly after the Australia-based company introduced its first new expedition ship in 2019, the Greg Mortimer, named for the Australian mountaineer and Aurora’s founder.The new ship is one of the vessels in owner, SunStone Ships’, INFINITY class. Constructed at CMHI, they have been designed by Ulstein Design & Solutions AS.The ‘Sylvia Earle’ has been designed by Ulstein Design & Solutions AS and is one of the potentially ten vessels in SunStone Ships’ INFINITY class.

Oceanwide Expeditions, the Dutch company specializing in expedition-style voyages to Antarctica and the Arctic, has cut steel on its newbuild, Polar Class 6 expedition ship, the Janssonius at Croatia’s Brodosplit shipyard.The design, size and 174-passenger capacity is the same as its sibling vessel, the Hondius (174 passengers) delivered in 2019, and a nearly identical size and design, the new ship will be equivalent to a 1A super ice-class ship, the line said.Completely on schedule, the Steel Cutting Ceremony took place in Split's Brodosplit shipyard, which marks the beginning of the construction of the vessel., it said.Janssonius´ completion is scheduled for 2021 and as of November 2021…

A MacGregor project team has been involved in the polar icebreaker Xue Long (Snow Dragon) 2 project for China’s 36th Antarctic expedition from the very early stage back in 2011MacGregor is working collaboratively with the he Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) project team and the Marine Design and Research Institute of China (MARIC) in Shanghai to develop different technical solutions required to enable deck handling equipment to operate effectively at temperatures of minus 45 degrees centigrade.MacGregor’s deck handling solution and scope of supply for Xue Long 2 comprises three offshore cranes, the research equipment deck handling systems, oceanographic winches, deck machinery and hatch covers.

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, a global player in expedition cruises and adventure travel experiences, has celebrated the float out of National Geographic Endurance in Ulstein Verft, Norway.The first polar newbuild for the line, the 126-guest vessel is fully stabilized with the highest ice class (PC5 Category A) of any purpose-built passenger vessel, according to a press release.The vessel is scheduled for delivery in January 2020.Read Maritime Reporter & Engineering News' feature on Sven Lindblad from earlier in 2019 here: https://www.marinelink.com/news/explorer-profile-sven-lindblad-463899"Due to Polar Class 5 (PC5), the ship can venture far into polar areas.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) to design and construct two new-generation luxury expedition cruise ships for French cruise operator Ponant.The MoA also envisages an option for one further sister-ship. The finalization of the contract is subject to the fulfillment of technical and financial conditions.In the past, Fincantieri has already built for Ponant 4 ships in Ancona, "Le Boréal", "L'Austral", "Le Soléal", and "Le Lyrial", delivered respectively in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2015.VARD, Fincantieri's Norwegian subsidiary, active in the design and shipbuilding of expedition cruise vessels, has built in 2018 and 2019 four units of the "Ponant Explorers" class and will deliver the last two of the series in 2020.

The world's first hybrid electric-powered expedition ship and newest member of the Hurtigruten fleet, MS Roald Amundsen, was officially named in Antarctica.The ceremony took place in Chiriguano Bay on Brabant Island - and instead of a traditional champagne bottle, godmother Karin Strand opted for a chunk of ice.According to the Norwegean cruise company, the ship will offer itineraries across the Antarctic. It was named after iconic polar explorer Roald Amundsen who led the first expeditions to the likes of the Northern Passage, the South Pole, and the first proven expedition to have reached the North Pole."We could not think of a better location than Antarctica to name MS Roald Amundsen," said Daniel Skjeldam, chief executive officer of Hurtigruten.

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, a global provider of expedition cruises and adventure travel experiences,  and Norwegian shipbuilder and ship designer Ulstein Group have celebrated the keel laying of Lindblad’s second polar new build at the Crist shipyard in Gdynia, Poland.The occasion also served as the official naming ceremony of the vessel. It is named as National Geographic Resolution,  in honor of Captain James Cook.Captain James Cook was the first to circumnavigate Antarctica, cross the Antarctic Circle, and the first European to reach Hawaii. While he captained several ships in his career, his favorite was the 'MS Resolution'.The newbuild is sister ship to the National Geographic Endurance which is being finalized at Ulstein Verft.

Vard, a Fincantieri subsidiary, has delivered the new Hanseatic Inspiration to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, the second in a series of three 230-guest luxury expedition ships for the German cruise operator.With her close to 16,000 gross tons and 139 meters long, “Hanseatic inspiration” follows sister ship “Hanseatic nature”, delivered in April by Vard Langsten in Norway, while a third vessel, “Hanseatic spirit”, is scheduled for completion in 2021.Each ship is tailored to allow passengers to access remote regions, ranging from the Arctic and Antarctic to the Amazon, said a press release from the  Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste.“Hanseatic inspiration” features seven spacious passenger decks…

SunStone Ships oversaw the steel cutting of Ocean Explorer, the fourth Infinity-class vessel in the class, at China Merchants Heavy Industry yard in Haimen.With a goal of marrying European design and quality with Chinese ship-building efficiency, the Infinity class delivers cutting-edge design, innovations like X-bow technology, and significant operating efficiencies, said a press release form the largest tonnage provider in the expedition market.SunStone President and CEO, Niels-Erik Lund, said: “We are very pleased with the quality and building standards of China Merchants Heavy Industry, which are fully at the level of European Shipyards.