Antarctic

Cruise Company Partners to Study, Protect Marine Mammals in Antarctica

Hurtigruten Expeditions strengthened its partnership with the California Ocean Alliance (COA) to better understand and protect whales and other marine mammals in Antarctica.A pilot trial was launched in late 2019 but paused due to the pandemic. But as Hurtigruten Expedition’s restarts the 2021/2022 Antarctica season, California Ocean Alliance scientists will be part of several Antarctica sailings onboard the MS Roald Amundsen, a battery hybrid powered expedition cruise ship.The team aims to collect acoustic data to study ambient noise conditions…

Explorer Profile: Sven Lindblad

Profiled in the March 2019 cruise edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News is Sven Lindblad, intrepid explorer and wildlife photographer Sven Lindblad blazed the trail for environmentally sensitive travelers to Antarctica on Lindblad Expedition’s fleet of cruise ships with National Geographic.You can tell a lot about a man by whom his heroes are, whether famous athletes, virtuoso musicians, brave warriors or movie stars. As we age, we choose our heroes by their moral compass…

Marlink inks deal with O.A.T.

Marlink entered an agreement with Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T.) to supply its satellite voice and data connectivity services for use on five adventure cruise ships in the O.A.T. fleet.Marlink will provide the O.A.T. Small Ships with a suite of solutions; equipment, bandwidth and operations to reliably meet and exceed guest voice and data requirements; uninterrupted voice and corporate connectivity to facilitate ship management tasks; and flexible connectivity services to…

Steel Cut for Quark Polar Expedition Ship

Croatia's Brodosplit shipyard today cut steel for Quark Expeditions' first newbuild, a 200-passenger vessel scheduled for 2020 launch.The ceremony took place at the shipyard and museum of Brodosplit, and was attended by senior executives from both companies, including President of Quark Expeditions Andrew White, CEO of DIV Group Tomislav Debeljak and CEO of Brodosplit Zoran Kunkera.The new ship from Quark Expeditions is the first of its kind, combining leading-edge technology, long-range operational capability and advanced safety systems to reach new frontiers in polar exploration…

Heesen Begins 2019 with Project Antartes

Heesen begins 2019 with the same momentum of 2018, with the launch of Project Antares on January 4, a 55m Steel class featuring a FDHF (fast displacement hull form) hull.Project Antares is the first of five yachts scheduled for launch in 2019 and part of a fleet of 13 yachts currently under construction at Heesen’s shipyard in Oss, The Netherlands. This significantly active order book includes the yard’s largest project to date – the extraordinary 80m Project Cosmos, which features…

First RENK AED Drive Passes Sea Tests

Noted German gear-maker Renk reports that its new propulsion system Advanced Electric Drive (AED) was successful in its recent sea test onboard a 110-m megayacht built in the Netherlands. The megayacht was the first to feature the AED, a innovative propulsion system that is designed to be light, compact with a very low noise signature.The RENK AED was chosen when the owner eschewed traditional diesel units for the 3500-ton displacement vessel. Renk is long-experienced in the area of the electrification of propulsion systems…

Damen Lays Keel for 77-meter Expedition Yacht

On July 27 DAMEN SeaXplorer marked a milestone in the construction of the SeaXplorer 77 expedition yacht at a keel laying ceremony at Damen Shipyards Galati on the banks of the Danube. The owner attended the ceremony and welded the traditional coin on the keel. Following the hull building phase, the 77-meter luxury expedition yacht (253 ft) will arrive at Damen’s Vlissingen East yard in the Netherlands for completion and on-schedule delivery in Q4 2020.The SeaXplorer 77 is a customized design from the DAMEN SeaXplorer range.

Expedition Cruising: Full Speed Ahead in China

Talk of trade wars and politics aside, attention should be paid to a growing relationship between U.S.-based SunStone Ships, Inc. and Chinese shipyard China Merchants Heavy Industries in Haimen, China, as the pair is quietly growing a cruise shipbuilding business in China. Sunstone announced that on June 12, 2018, the keel was laid for the first Infinity Class vessel Greg Mortimer, the first in a series that could eventually total 10 high-spec expedition cruise vessels.Greg Mortimer…

Oliver Design to Showcase Projects at Navalia

Oliver Design will be showcasing some of its latest projects on its stand at the Navalia trade fair, which runs from May 22 to 24 , in Vigo, Spain.Recent projects from the Spanish firm, which specializes in naval design and architecture, include new state-of the-art vessels ranging from working vessels to luxury cruise ships. It has also carried out renovation on several existing vessels.The biannual Navalia is one of the top international fairs for the shipbuilding industry.

Microplastic in the Oceans

The Volvo Ocean Race is providing an exceptional opportunity to test oceans for micro-plastics in remote and coastal areas and shed light on the scale and global distribution of micro-plastics marine pollution. The Race's latest scientific data, collected by team ‘Turn the Tide on Plastic’, identified 75 particles of micro-plastics per cubic metre in waters near Hong Kong and 87 particles of micro-plastics per cubic metre along the coast near Melbourne. The highest levels of micro-plastic so far have been found in European waters where the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet with a peak of 307 particles of micro-plastics per cubic metre.

DNV GL to Class Endeavor Expedition Yachts

MV WERFTEN said it has contracted DNV GL for the classification of the Endeavor-class vessels. The contract includes three 20,000 GT mega yachts, which will be three of the first passenger ships to be classified according to the new DNV GL rules. Due to become the world’s largest expedition yachts with ice class, the Endeavor newbuildings will be fabricated at MV WERFTEN in Stralsund from 2017 and delivered to luxury cruise line Crystal Yacht Expedition Cruises in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Russia's Floating Research Station Unfolds in the Arctic

The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources says that Russia plans to establish a floating research station in Arctic sea. The floating research station “North Pole-41” is already in the making, says the Ministry statement. The Ministry says that the station will be an important instrument in securing Russian presence in the Arctic and will give Russia the opportunity to set new priorities for the scientific research on the drifting ice. "At present the deployment of seasonal scientific drifting station" North Pole-2015 is the only possible scientific research way in the North Pole"- the ministry said.

LIfeboat Prepares to Retrace Shackleton's Antarctic Voyage

A crew of six British and Australian adventurers will re-enact Sir Ernest Shackleton's epic Antarctic small boat voyage. With only four months to go before the 'Shackleton Epic' adventure gets underway, a significant milestone has been reached with the sea trial and the expedition's naval element is eager to get going on the trip of a lifetime. The 'Shackleton Epic' has been in development since 2008 when The Honourable Alexandra Shackleton, grand-daughter of Sir Ernest, had the idea of an expedition to honour one of the greatest leadership and survival stories of all time.