These are Ocean Victory and Ocean Explorer, under construction at China Merchants Heavy Industry.
Charterers Victory Cruise Lines, Albatros Expeditions, Vantage
Ocean Victory will operate on charter to Victory Cruise Lines in Alaska and Albatros Expeditions in Antarctica. Ocean Explorer will sail globally for Vantage Cruise Line, part of Boston-based Vantage Deluxe World 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, even considering the continued COVID-19 world crisis, we are moving fast forward as planned at very satisfactory speed, safety and quality level.'
Five days in the South China Sea
Sea trials for each ship spanned five days of intense testing while underway in the South China Sea. More than 150 people were on board each vessel including classification society Bureau Veritas, managers CMI and the owner's site team, SunStone Marine Advisors.
Infinity-class ships stretch 104 meters and sport the patented Ulstein X-BOW. They have capacity for 130 to 200 passengers and 85 to 115 crew. The vessels are being built to Ice Class 1A, Polar Code 6.
Ocean Victory and Ocean Explorer are scheduled for delivery this year, along with sister vessel Sylvia Earle. They follow 2019's Greg Mortimer.
