Captain Vladimir Vorobyov is set to retire next year, according to Plantours, as the popular captain will mark an end to a long 40-plus-year seafaring career.

Vorobyov is currently in the middle of a contract aboard Plantours’ MS Hamburg.

Vorobyov is originally from Sevastopol and currently lives with his family in Odessa when not at sea.

Going to sea, Vorobyov followed in his father’s footsteps – who was a captain on both cargo ships and passenger liners.

In 2015 he was named captain on the 420-guest MS Hamburg, which is deployed on a globe-trotting range of itineraries ranging from Antarctica to the Great Lakes and the Amazon.

His final sailing will be a nine-day cruise next March exploring the Canary Islands and ending in Lisbon.