The Star Seeker will be the last ship in the series that started with the World Explorer in 2019, according to Mystic Cruises’ CEO Mário Ferreira.

Currently under construction at the West Sea shipyard in Viana do Castelo, the 200-guest vessel will enter service for Windstar Cruises later this year.

“The Star Seeker is the last ship of this type that we will make here in Viana do Castelo. It is the fifth; we already have another four sister ships sailing,” Ferreira said in a video shared on his social media profiles.

He noted that the ship is currently undergoing finishing touches before being delivered to its new owners in November.

Originally ordered for Mystic’s Atlas Ocean Voyagers brand, the Seeker was later acquired by Windstar along with the World Explorer.

Standing on the drydock where the vessel is being built, Ferreira noted that the ships in the series are 126 meters long and boast 10,000 tons.

“I have shown many pictures of their construction over the years, and this is an interesting way to say goodbye to this class of vessels, as we won’t build any others,” he added.

Mystic is now planning to build a new series of 20,000-ton ships in a shipyard in Asia, Ferreira revealed, noting that ships of this size cannot be built in Portugal.

“Unfortunately, there is currently no shipyard in Portugal with the necessary capacity. The shipyards in Viana are full of work and are hardly able to meet the existing orders,” he said, noting that the Lisnave shipyard does not have a license to build new ships.

“In summary, there is no capacity in Portugal. In Europe, everything is full for the coming years, and the alternative is to find shipyards in Asia, with the support of Portuguese, German, French and Italian companies,” Ferreira added.

In addition to the World Explorer and the Star Seeker, Mystic’s series of 200-guest sister ships also includes the World Voyager, the World Traveller and the World Navigator.

The vessels offer itineraries in Europe, as well as expeditions to remote parts of the globe for Atlas Ocean, Rivages du Monde and Quark Expeditions.