Solid and workmanlike ship with onboard helicopter

Fortified for both poles of the planet, the ice-strengthened Ortelius is the ideal polar vessel for your Arctic or Antarctic expedition, for those seeking a smaller ship but without top luxury.

Ortelius was originally the Marina Svetaeva. Built in Gdynia, Poland in 1989, she served as a special-purpose vessel for the Russian Academy of Science. Later she was re-flagged and renamed after the Dutch/Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius (1527 – 1598), who in 1570 published the first modern world atlas: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum or Theater of the World. At that time his atlas was the most expensive book ever printed. Ortelius is classed by Lloyd’s Register in London and flies the Dutch flag.

The vessel has the highest ice-class notation (UL1, equivalent to 1A) and is therefore suitable to navigate in solid one-year sea ice as well as loose multi-year pack ice. Ortelius can accommodate up to 108 passengers and has an abundance of open-deck spaces. She is manned by 22 highly experienced nautical crew members, 19 hotel staff, eight expedition specialists (one expedition leader, one assistant, and six lecturer-guides), and one doctor. She has 11 Zodiacs and an on-board helicopter.  There was a £1 million refurbishment of Deck 5 carried out in 2014.

Passengers:           108 passengers in en-suite cabins

Itineraries:             Arctic, Antarctic, Ross Sea

Operator:               Oceanwide Expeditions

Deck plan:              See below