By
Alice Chambers |
Aurora Expeditions has officially christened its newest expedition ship, Sylvia Earle, with the help of its namesake and godmother, Dr Sylvia Earle.
The cruise line named the vessel after Earle as a tribute to her work as a marine biologist, oceanographer and explorer. Earle’s Mission Blue initiative aims to protect marine areas known as ‘Hope Spots’ and aligns with Aurora’s aim to protect the oceans that it sails on.
The vessel sailed an inaugural voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Antarctica on 10 December, and embarked on Earle’s world-first ‘Antarctica Climate Expedition’ after its christening. The expedition was designed in partnership with Aurora Expeditions and Ocean Geographic to raise public and government awareness of the environmental importance of the Antarctic and to provide solutions for net-zero shipping emissions by 2035.
“Thank you, Aurora for the approach that you use to keep people inspired about the ocean,” said Earle. “Exploring the ocean, using knowledge to take care of all this on our planet. This is an experience that I am happy to share with everyone here and I’m looking at Aurora as the voice of the ocean.”
Aurora Expeditions has included a Science Centre onboard Sylvia Earle to encourage guests to participate in educations Citizen Science programmes. The brand has also reinforced the importance of scientific research to protect the oceans by naming each deck after pioneering female conservationists including Jo Ruxton MBE, Dr Carden Wallace AM, Sharon Kwok, Bernadette Demientieff, Dr Asha de Vos and Hanli Prinsloo. There is also a deck dedicated to Earle.
“We are privileged to have Dr Earle as the namesake of our stunning second purpose-built expedition ship,” said Michael Heath, CEO of Aurora Expeditions. “I thank Sylvia for joining us onboard to officially christen the ship and be onboard for the inaugural Antarctic Climate Expedition.”
The vessel accommodates 132 passengers and is designed to facilitate excursions by water and land with itineraries featuring hikes, sea kayaking, scuba diving, snorkelling, paddling, skiing, photography and birdwatching.