V.Ships Leisure, part of V.Group, has announced a new deal with Mystic Cruises to provide crew management services including deck, engine, and hotel crew for the new World Explorer.

The vessel, which is currently under the final stages of construction at WestSea Viana Shipyard in Portugal will be delivered to Mystic Cruises this spring. 

The World Explorer will be on charter to Nicko Cruises during the summer and to Quark Expeditions during the Antarctica season. 

Commenting on the partnership, Mário Ferreira, CEO, Mystic Cruises, said: “We decided to partner with V.Ships Leisure due to its proven track record in the cruise market. We are also confident in the team’s capability to meet our various and demanding crew management needs, and to provide us with relevant access to a world-leading independent crew network and world-class systems.”

Per Bjornsen, V.Ships Leisure director added: “We are delighted to partner with Mystic Cruises and look forward to leveraging our unique experience and expertise with start-ups and expedition vessels to support the company as it welcomes its first ocean-going newbuild.”

With the largest network of owned recruitment centres across the world, V.Group is taking positive steps through its Project Embark programme to invest in, and attract the best crewing talent from across the globe by focusing on the digital journey of the seafarer, the company said.

Most recently, the company launched the first wave of its V.Crew Connect app in India, giving seafarers access to a seamless experience to support and ease the mobilization and disembarkation process, and contract management. 

To meet the rapidly increased demand for crew with necessary training in line with Polar Code requirements, V.Group’s training supplier, Marlins, recently developed an interactive e-learning for the Polar Code, in order to increase the pool of qualified talent for this sector.