The small ship, expedition and adventure cruise ship fleet is
continually on the move. Not just on the world’s oceans, but between
operators, owners and cruise lines.
Typically a ship is owned by an individual, an investment group or an
instrumentality, like the Russian oceanographic ships, and managed
by a specialist organisation like International Shipping Partners (ISP)
in Miami. Ships are then chartered or leased to a cruise line that will
sail it under their brand. Expedition ships, in particular, are a
promiscuous variety, hopping from one line to another with new a
persona as circumstances change.
Here is a short summary of some of the better known expedition
ship movements over the last 12 months.
Corinthian II (one of the eight Renaissance class ships, R7) will
conclude eight faithful years with US operator, Travel Dynamics, and
be renamed Sea Explorer. She will begin with newbie operator Polar
Latitudes in March 2013.
Orion II, once Clelia II (another Renaissance class ship, R4) after a
shortened stint with Orion Expedition Cruises, is being returned to
Travel Dynamics as Corinthian. She’s had a tough life.
Hebridean Spirit (R6) became Caledonian Sky after Australian APT
took a strategic stake in high-end adventure company, Noble
Caledonia. She’s heading to the Kimberley for the 2013 season (CW
02 Oct 12).
Sea Spirit (R5), once Spirit of Oceanus when with failed US cruise
line, Cruise West, returns to Quark after a 2012 northern summer
season with Dutch line, Oceanwide Expeditions.
Ocean Diamond left service with Ponant Cruises at the end of 2011
where she sailed as Le Diamant. Quark will return her to service
beginning this Antarctic season. Built in 1974 as a cargo ship, she was
Lyubov Orlova Andrea Ponant Diamant
converted for cruising in 1986 and is nearing the end of her service
life.
Clipper Adventurer, an elegant and trusted vessel, if somewhat long
in the tooth, became Sea Adventurer in 2012 and will sail for Quark
and Zegrahm in 2013. Built in 1975 in the former Yugoslavia, she is a
twin of the Lyubov Orlova (sometimes unkindly referred to as ‘lube oil
all over’) which, after languishing for many months under arrest in
Nova Scotia, now seems destined for the breakers.
MS Andrea, a delightful little 1960-built former Hurtigruten coastal
vessel (Harald Jarl) seemed doomed when her US owners went bust
in 2008. Increasingly strict regulations made the cosy cruiser a
liability, but it seems she will return to service this year under new
Russian owners as MS Serenissima. Find her itineraries with Noble
Caledonia.
Akademik Sergey Vavilov, one of the most trusted and well-travelled
ice-strengthened oceanographic vessels joins Andrew Prossin’s One
Ocean Expeditions this year after stalwart service with Quark. This
writer completed his first expedition cruise in 1998 aboard this vessel
while with Quark. The sister ship, Akademik Ioffe, began operations
with OOE in 2010.
Le Levant departs Ponant Cruises after entering service with the
French-flagged line from new in 1998. The sleek 90-passenger luxury
vessel will be operated from this year by Paul Gauguin Cruises in
French Polynesia after a comprehensive refit and overhaul.
Marina Svetaeva, the sturdy 1989-built Arctic ferry, bought by
Aurora Expeditions founders Greg and Margaret Mortimer in 2008
soon became a burden. After sale to Dutch line, Oceanwide
Expeditons, it became Ortelius and just completed its first year of
service with new owners.
