During the steel cutting ceremony of the ‘Greg Mortimer’, the first expedition vessel in the SunStone Ships ‘Infinity’ series, a second shipbuilding contract was signed with China Merchant Heavy Industries (CMHI).
The latest order, ‘Infinity II’ (tbr), scheduled for delivery in August, 2020, is essentially a sister vessel to the ‘Greg Mortimer’, with a capacity of 160 pax.
However, ‘Infinity II’ will have a number of different features from the the first ship, but will be a sistership from a capacity and technical aspect, the company explained.
SunStone’s President & CEO, Niels-Erik Lund, said, “While we aren’t yet ready to announce the long-term charterer of the second vessel, we are happy to report that long-term charter contracts have already been signed for the ‘Infinity III’ and ‘Infinity IV’.”
‘Infinity II’ will be the second vessel in the series of expedition cruise vessels being built by CMHI for SunStone; as part of a firm contract for four vessels with options for an additional six.
The vessels will be 104 m long, 18 m wide and have a draft of 5.1 m, a pax capacity of between 130-200 and a crew of between 85 and 115. They will be Ice Class 1A, Polar Code 6 and are being built with safe return to port, a dynamic positioning system and zero speed stabilisers.
The first ship, ‘Greg Mortimer’, is scheduled for delivery in August, 2019 and will go on charter to Aurora Cruises, Australia.
