The biggest provider of expedition tonnage on charter deals is pushing forward with another newbuild project, while leadership changes are bringing in a new generation.

Niels Erik-Lund has turned SunStone Ships over to his sons, Carsten and Christian, and resigned on July 1, 2025, staying on as a non-executive board member.

“My brother and I are incredibly proud and honored to being given the responsibility of carrying SunStone forward and building on the strong foundation our father has built during the past 35 years,” said Carsten Lund, chief commercial officer.

The year promises to be exciting for the company. The seventh and final ship in the Infinity class, the Douglas Mawson, will be delivered in China and then sent on her long-term year-round charter to Aurora Expeditions.

Boundless

In addition to finishing the Douglas Mawson, Lund said he was working full speed to have a deal in place this year to build a series of new ships, the Boundless class, for a variety of charter clients.

“The first step was to revisit the choices made on main equipment and technology, as we all know how quickly this industry moves. We adjusted a few choices to ensure that we continue building vessels which are as safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible as possible. Since then, we have continued reducing our shipyard shortlist. We expect to have an letter of intent in place with a shipyard during Q2 2025 and the first ship building contract signed by end of year 2025,” he said.

What do clients want? That is answered in the design of the Boundless ships, which will be about 20 meters longer than the Infinity-class vessels.

“The passenger capacity will depend on the charterers’ needs, but we will be able to accommodate between 200 and 300 passengers. In addition to being capable of running on biofuel like the Infinity class, the Boundless will also be prepared for ethanol and methanol, as well as having battery packs to reduce the need for diesel generators to be online for redundancy.”

Additionally, plans call for a top deck pool midship under a retractable roof. The ships will offer an enclosed garage able to store up to 20 zodiacs or other equipment such as jet skis, submarines, or small tenders.

“This makes the Boundless an ideal choice for warm water operators and polar operators alike, as we have more outdoor space and equipment flexibility combined with Polar Class 6 ice-strengthened hull and propulsion systems,” Lund said.

While a shipyard had not yet been secured as of April, Lund said decision criteria would come down to price, and being able to deliver a quality ship on time.

“Being a ship owner and a tonnage provider, we have charterers who depend on these deliveries. Delays not only affect us, but they also affect our charterers, some of which we have worked with for nearly 20 years. It is therefore vital for us to work with a yard which is both committed and capable. This was achieved with the Infinity class, and it is a must for the Boundless class as well.”

Business Dynamics

“During the past year, we have seen an increased interest in our vessels outside the expedition market. We maintain a narrow focus on what type of vessels we build, but we are broadening the range of clients for which our vessels are built. With the addition of the Boundless, we are confident that more warm-water operators will be operating SunStone vessels in the future.

Other changes include the Ocean Albatros, which has been sold to the new owners at Alabatros Expeditions, as well as the Ocean Atlantic, Ocean Endeavour and Ocean Adventurer, which are older expedition ships coming off charter deals. The latter will sail for G Adventures later this year.

Lund said the Ocean Atlantic has been sold to be recycled following her last voyage in May.

“Our strategy continues to be to slowly retire the older tonnage and focus exclusively on new tonnage; however, most of the older vessels are still attractive assets for different reasons,” he continued. “The Ocean Adventurer had major upgrades in 2017 when the owners of the ship invested $15 million on six new engines, all new bathrooms, as well as an added superstructure with additional passenger suites and refurbished all public spaces.”

Following a boom in the expedition market, Lund said the recovery coming out of Covid had been delayed with over capacity.

“The passengers have now come back, and we expect to see continued growth in the expedition market in the coming years. As a substantial share of the world-wide expedition fleet includes first-generation, older vessels which are close to or past the age of retirement, we could soon see the demand outweigh the supply, as purpose-built vessels become the new standard for expedition cruising.”

Excerpt from the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine Summer 2025