| IMO | 9880685 |
|---|---|
| Gross tonnage | 12,786 GT |
| Length | 124.4 m |
| Beam | 21 m |
| Passenger capacity (max) | 138 |
| Crew | 116 |
| Service speed | 16.5 knots |
| Builder | Ulstein Verft |
| Yard | Ulsteinvik |
| Hull number | NB 316 |
| Launched | 2021 |
| Maiden voyage | 2021 |
| Operator | Lindblad Expeditions |
| Status | Active |
Overview
National Geographic Resolution is a polar expedition ship owned and operated by Lindblad Expeditions under its alliance with National Geographic. Built by Ulstein in Norway — with hull construction by CRIST at Gdynia, Poland, and outfitting at Ulstein Verft, Ulsteinvik — she was delivered on 30 September 2021 and is the second ship of Lindblad's Endurance class, following National Geographic Endurance (2020). At 12,786 GT and 124.4 m, with a Polar Class 5 ice-strengthened X-BOW hull, she was designed for extended expedition voyages in polar and remote waters with a small complement of guests — 138 at maximum in the dataset, marketed by Lindblad at a lower typical complement.
Her name honours HMS Resolution, Captain James Cook's ship on his second and third voyages of exploration, the first vessel to cross the Antarctic Circle — a naming paired deliberately with her sister's, which honours Shackleton's Endurance.
Key specifications
The dataset records Resolution at 12,786 GT, 124.4 m in length and 21 m in beam, with a maximum capacity of 138, a crew of 116 and a speed of 16.5 knots; her IMO number is 9880685. Her Wikipedia article confirms the tonnage, dimensions, speed and crew, and records her yard number as NB 316, a figure the dataset does not carry and which is therefore noted here in prose only. She has six decks, a draught of about 5.3 m, diesel-electric plant of about 7 MW by General Electric driving two Azipods, and Polar Class 5 ice notation — a higher ice class than most expedition tonnage, permitting operation in medium first-year ice.
Capacity is the one figure on which sources divide: Lindblad's own descriptions generally present her as a 126-guest ship, while her particulars give 138. The dataset's 138 is a maximum-capacity figure; the lower number is the line's marketed complement. Both are recorded here so the difference is visible rather than hidden.
Design and construction
Resolution was ordered on 28 February 2019. Her construction followed the pattern Ulstein uses for its Norwegian-built expedition ships: steelwork and hull construction at the CRIST yard in Gdynia, Poland — where her keel was laid on 18 September 2019 — followed by tow-out of the hull and full outfitting at Ulstein Verft in Ulsteinvik, Norway. The hull was launched at Gdynia on 16 October 2020 and arrived in Norway that month; the completed ship was floated out at Ulsteinvik on 9 June 2021 and was completed and delivered on 30 September 2021, at a reported cost of about US$135 million.
The design is defined by Ulstein's patented X-BOW, whose inverted profile cuts through waves to reduce pitching, spray and fuel burn on long ocean passages, and by the endurance brief written into the class name: expanded fuel and water capacity for long spells in remote regions without support, zero-speed stabilisers, and Scandinavian-styled interiors arranged around observation. Sixty-nine cabins were provided, most with balconies, an unusually high ratio of outside accommodation for a working expedition ship.
Naming, launch and maiden voyage
The name National Geographic Resolution was announced at her keel laying in October 2019, honouring Cook's Resolution — the ship Cook himself called "the ship of my choice". Her sponsor was Heidi Norling, who would also serve as the ship's captain. Unusually, the christening took place not in port before service but during her inaugural voyage: Resolution's first cruise departed Ushuaia on 17 November 2021 for Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands, and she was christened under way at a ceremony in Duse Bay, in the Weddell Sea, on 23 November 2021, with Captain Norling — the first woman to captain in Lindblad's international fleet — as godmother. The dataset records her maiden voyage simply as 2021.
Career by operator
Resolution has been owned and operated by Lindblad Expeditions throughout her career, sailing under the National Geographic–Lindblad alliance branding, with no other operator or name.
| Period | Name | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| 2021–present | National Geographic Resolution | Lindblad Expeditions |
Onboard character
Resolution's character is that of the early-2020s purpose-built polar ship at its most complete: a small guest complement, an expedition staff carried as part of the ship's company, and public spaces designed for looking outward — observation lounges, decks and a bridge policy shaped around wildlife and ice rather than entertainment programming. Her interiors, Scandinavian in inspiration, use the muted palette and natural materials that became the visual signature of the Norwegian-built expedition generation.
The technical choices reinforce the character: the X-BOW's smooth ride in head seas, the PC5 hull that lets her begin polar seasons earlier than lower-classed ships, and the tank capacity for long, self-sufficient voyages. She is, in short, a ship designed around the expedition programme rather than around the hotel, with the hotel — all-outside cabins, most with balconies — raised to a standard earlier expedition ships did not attempt.
Major refits and incidents
No major refits or incidents are recorded for National Geographic Resolution in the sources consulted at the time of writing. Her early career was shaped by the pandemic-era timing of her delivery rather than by any casualty: completed in September 2021, she proceeded directly to her first Antarctic season that November.
Sister ships and class
Resolution is the second of the two-ship Endurance class built by Ulstein for Lindblad, following National Geographic Endurance (delivered 2020, Ulstein NB 312). The sisters share the X-BOW hull, Polar Class 5 notation, 12,786 GT tonnage and near-identical dimensions and capacity, and they formed the core of Lindblad's polar newbuild programme. They should not be confused with the SunStone Infinity-class ships, which also use an Ulstein X-BOW design but were built in China to the smaller CX103 template for charter operators.
Fate and where she is now
National Geographic Resolution is an active ship in the Lindblad Expeditions fleet, recorded in the dataset with the status "Operating". In line with this directory's evergreen policy, no itinerary or seasonal deployment information is given. Her place in the record is as the second Endurance-class ship and the vessel whose Antarctic christening — a working captain naming her own ship in the Weddell Sea during her maiden voyage — became one of the emblematic moments of the expedition sector's post-2020 restart.
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic_Resolution