Ocean Odyssey keel laid, Sylvia Earle launched in China

Both 104-meter Infinity-class ships use Ulstein's X-BOW design and have capacity for 130 to 200 passengers.

Sylvia Earle for Aurora, Ocean Odyssey for Vantage

Sylvia Earle is chartered to Aurora Expeditions on a year-round, long-term basis, while Ocean Odyssey will operate year-round expedition cruises for Boston-based Vantage Travel.

'We are very pleased with the quality and high building standards of China Merchants Heavy Industry, which are fully at the level of European shipyards,' SunStone CEO Niels-Erik Lund said. 'We are looking forward to continuing our relationships with all our partners in the Infinity-class project and we, even considering the COVID-19 world crisis, are moving fast forward as planned at very satisfactory speed, safety and quality level.'