| IMO | 9883194 |
|---|---|
| Gross tonnage | 8,228 GT |
| Length | 104.4 m |
| Beam | 18.4 m |
| Passenger capacity (max) | 162 |
| Crew | 99 |
| Service speed | 16.0 knots |
| Builder | China Merchants Heavy Industry |
| Yard | Haimen |
| Launched | 2020 |
| Maiden voyage | 2021 |
| Operator | Quark Expeditions |
| Status | Active |
Overview
Ocean Explorer is a ship whose biography is really about a business model. She is the second of SunStone Ships' Infinity-class expedition vessels — European-designed, Chinese-built ships owned by a tonnage provider and chartered out, complete, to whichever expedition brand will operate them. In her first four years she sailed for three different operators, without changing her name, her owner or her appearance.
That makes her an unusually instructive page in this directory. The hull is the constant; the brand on the brochure is a charter. Built by China Merchants Heavy Industry at Haimen to Ulstein's CX103 design, with the Norwegian firm's patented X-BOW, she was delivered on 13 July 2021 and has worked as an expedition ship ever since — first for Vantage, then for Aurora Expeditions, and from October 2024 for Quark Expeditions, as the dataset records.
Key specifications
The dataset gives her as 8,228 GT, 104.4 m long and 18.4 m in beam, with a maximum capacity of 162, a crew of 99 and a speed of 16.0 knots. Her designer Ulstein's own reference page gives a maximum speed of 15.5 knots and an accommodation figure of 165 passengers, and delivery-era material quoted 140 guests. The dataset figures are used in the spec box.
Her technical classification is the substance of the design: Polar Class 6, Ice Class 1A, Polar Code Category B, with Safe Return to Port, dynamic positioning and zero-speed stabilisers — the full checklist of the modern small expedition ship. Maximum draught is about 5.3 m, shallow enough for the shallow anchorages expedition itineraries depend on.
Design and construction
The Infinity class is Ulstein Design & Solutions' CX103 design, developed for SunStone, the Miami-based owner that describes its aim as marrying European design and quality with Chinese shipbuilding efficiency. The X-BOW is the design's signature: an inverted bow that softens motion in head seas, reduces slamming and vibration, and improves fuel efficiency. Ulstein's designers, visiting the ship in Oslo in July 2022, reported the crew comparing her motion to a dolphin's — soft rather than abrupt.
Ocean Explorer differs from the class's lead ship, Greg Mortimer, in two ways her designer singles out: an infinity pool on deck 7, and a two-level forward atrium lounge with a piano bar and panoramic bow windows, glazed so that guests can watch the water — and wildlife — directly ahead and below the bow. She was launched on 12 August 2020 at Haimen and completed her sea trials in the first week of February 2021, in company with her sister Ocean Victory. Delivery followed on 13 July 2021.
Naming, launch and maiden voyage
Infinity-class ships carry plain descriptive names chosen to suit charterers — Ocean Explorer, Ocean Victory, Ocean Odyssey, Ocean Albatros — and hers is the most generic of the set, a name that has belonged to many vessels. She is distinguished by her IMO number, 9883194, not by her name.
After delivery she sailed from Haimen to Manila to embark crew, then to Malta for hotel crew and supplies, and on to Poole in England, where her cruising was to commence in late August 2021 for Vantage Travel. The dataset records her maiden voyage simply as 2021. She is reported to have been christened by Patricia Lewis and Deirdre Dirkman.
Career by operator
Her name has never changed; her operator has changed twice. The dataset's operator history is the spine of her career.
| Period | Name | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| 2021–2023 | Ocean Explorer | Vantage Cruise Line |
| 2023–2024 | Ocean Explorer | Aurora Expeditions |
| 2024–present | Ocean Explorer | Quark Expeditions |
The first change followed the collapse of Vantage Travel in 2023, which left its chartered Infinity-class ships to be placed elsewhere; her sister Ocean Odyssey's record shows the same disruption. Aurora Expeditions, which already operated two Infinity-class ships of its own, took her on charter, and from October 2024 she passed to Quark Expeditions, per the designer reference the dataset cites. Through all of it her owner, SunStone, and her technical and hotel management arrangements remained the continuity.
Onboard character
Infinity-class ships are designed to be fitted out to a charterer's taste during construction, so their character is a shared hull with a brand's interior laid over it. In Ocean Explorer's case the defining spaces are the ship's own: the two-level bow lounge with its panoramic windows, the infinity pool aft on deck 7, and the observation and lecture spaces that expedition operation requires. With about 160 guests, she is small enough for everyone to land at once in polar regions, where regulations and good practice cap shore parties — the practical reason ships of this size dominate modern expedition cruising.
Her designers' emphasis was on motion and light: a bow that does not slam, and a lounge that turns the bow itself into a viewing room. That, more than any amenity list, is her character.
Major refits and incidents
No casualty, grounding or fire is recorded for Ocean Explorer in the sources used for this guide. The major events of her career are commercial: the failure of her first charterer, Vantage, in 2023, and her two subsequent re-charters. A listing for the ship records a refurbishment in 2024, which would coincide with her transfer to Quark Expeditions.
Sister ships and class
She is a member of SunStone's Infinity class, to the Ulstein CX103 design. Her sisters, in delivery order, include Greg Mortimer (2019, the lead ship), Ocean Victory (2021), Sylvia Earle (2022), Ocean Odyssey (2022), Ocean Albatros (2023) and Douglas Mawson (2025) — identical in hull, dimensions and machinery concept, each completed with interior variations for its charterer. Ulstein counted Ocean Explorer variously as the second Infinity ship delivered and, in one sea-trial report, as vessel number four in the series by build sequence; the delivery order is the clearer measure. The dataset records no class name in her row, so Infinity class is used here as the design name given by her designer and owner.
Fate and where she is now
Ocean Explorer is in active service, recorded in the dataset as status active and fate "Operating", with Quark Expeditions as her current operator under charter from SunStone. As a chartered hull, her operator is the part of her record most likely to change again; her name, owner and employment as an expedition ship have been constant since 2021.
Sources: https://ulstein.com/references/ocean-explorer