AURORA Expeditions’ new vessel, Greg Mortimer, will hold more than double the 54 guests accommodated on the ship it currently charters for its polar itineraries, Polar Pioneer.
Speaking at a media event in Sydney yesterday, co-founder Greg Mortimer explained “the simple economics today are that you can’t build a little polar pioneer 50-person vessel and it be economic so there’s a need for the new ship to be bigger”.
The new vessel will debut in Oct 2019 and is the first of 10 of its kind being built by Ulstein.
Although there was the potential for it to hold 180 passengers, Aurora opted to keep it smaller and dedicate the extra space to roomier cabins.
Managing director Robert Halfpenny told TD the ability to purpose-build the vessel allowed it to use the expertise of its team to create a ship designed “by expeditioners for expeditioners”.
It will have four sea-level launching platforms, hydraulic viewing platforms in the bow to ensure pax don’t lose their forward-viewing opportunity and more than 30% interconnecting cabins to cater for extended families travelling together.
Halfpenny said the higher speed of the ship allowed due to its X-Bow technology had seen the company add in some new options, including Franz Josef Land in the Arctic Ocean.
The company has also introduced a fly-fly option in Antarctica, allowing passengers to skip the Drake Passage.
Halfpenny reinforced that the vessel wouldn’t change the “pioneering spirit” which the company inherited from its co-founders, highlighting “the difference between us and other operators is we don’t mind scratching the paint on our ship and people won’t mind getting dirty,” he said.
The Aurora Expeditions team pictured are: Michael Woods, brand marketing manager; Greg Mortimer & Margaret Mortimer, co-founders; Stephen Antsee, expedition leader; Heidi Krajewsky, naturalist and Robert Halfpenny, managing director.
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Source: traveldaily