Australia-based Orion Expeditions is doubling capacity in 2011 when it takes delivery of a second ship, to be based in the Far East.
The 100-passenger ship is being chartered from New York-based Travel Dynamics International, a US expedition cruise company.
The vessel was launched in 1990 as Renaissance Four, which makes it a sister ship to the former Hebridean Spirit, and currently operates as Clelia II. It will be renamed Orion II when it joins Orion in May 2011.
The ship has recently had a €13 million refurbishment, focusing on technical enhancements and upgraded environmental systems, and will undergo cosmetic enhancements to bring it into the Orion style before it starts sailing.
The vessel has an ice-strengthened hull for sailing in Antarctica and carries a fleet of Zodiacs for excursions ashore.
Orion founder and managing director Sarina Bratton told Travel Weekly during a visit to London in August that she was looking for a new ship to cope with demand for the cruiseline’s upmarket, expedition-style cruising.
Announcing the new charter, she said a loyal past-passenger base, growth in the independent travellers’ sector, and significant opportunities afforded through charter and incentives markets, have provided the platform for the expansion.
Orion II will be based in Southeast Asia and sail a range of expedition cruises that visit Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, the Indonesian archipelago, Japan and Borneo.
Details of destinations and itineraries will be released next year once they are finalised and an expedition team for the ship has been secured.
Orion currently has one ship, the 106-passenger Orion, which sails in the Kimberley, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia and Antarctica.